The rise in the housing market and the housing crisis are boosting demand for tiny homes in Quebec, although the path is full of pitfalls.
• Also read: Do you dream of a Tiny House? Here are six styles that are gaining popularity in Quebec
“There are so, so, so many requests,” says Joanie Forest, co-owner of Mini maison Forest, which builds and rents these small houses.
General contractor Jason Therrien has built around forty tiny houses in villages in Center-du-Québec with his former partner since 2016. Its main customers are single women, retirees and young couples.
“Demand is certainly great and people are loving it!” confirms the owner of Baraka, who believes access to property is under threat like never before.
Marie Genest, manager of the Mouvement québécois des mini-maisons, also notes that these 300 to 600 square meter apartments are popular.
“There are many economic reasons. That’s what I hear most often,” she says.
Not to mention the savings these homes make in terms of maintenance costs, energy, etc.
Despite their popularity, tiny houses lack land with permits to house them, which is a reason for the war. “It’s even more complicated with tiny houses on wheels,” laments Mr. Forest.
Given the current socio-economic context, Ms Genest believes local authorities have no choice but to adapt.
Mr. Therrien made an occasion out of it. Whose goal? Make municipalities aware of the importance of including small house sectors in real estate areas in the future.
“This will soon be the only way for a first-time buyer to become an owner,” he is convinced.
In 2020, Edith Comeau paid $35,000 for her approximately 24,000-square-foot property in Dixville; today it is worth $50,000. His tiny house, which cost him $115,000 with his choice of eco-friendly materials, suffered a similar surge. “I made it in time!” she says happily.
Welcome to the family site
The minimalist company offers models of tiny houses that can be built on the land to create a multi-generational property
In order to compensate for the scarcity of land, the municipalities allow the construction of a secondary dwelling on the property of a permanent residence under certain conditions. This is especially true in Granby, Dixville and Victoriaville.
The latter two have only allowed one or two additional residency applications, but the industry believes a change is imminent. Minimaliste co-owner Jean-Philippe Marquis is selling several backyard tiny houses in Ontario and the United States.
These pavilions make it possible to place an aging relative on a family member’s land instead of having them placed there.
The model proposed by Modules Tech Pic-Bois owner Richard Picard is small but larger than a room in a CHSLD, he says. “It’s the future!” he shouts.
Green light from the municipality
The main obstacle when installing or building your tiny house is finding a piece of land with a municipal permit. To give guidance to enthusiasts, the Mouvement québécois des minimaisons conducted a survey and listed the minimum building standards of communities accepting tiny houses on an interactive map: minimaison.org/ou-sinstaller/
With the interactive map on the minimaisons.org website, you can find the best place to build a tiny house with a simple click.
An unknown inventory
The number of tiny houses in Quebec remains unknown as neither the CMHC nor the APCHQ detail when construction began or the permits issued for these dwellings, which are confused with the “single-family homes” category.
The right match
Craftsmen are among the well-known players in prefabricated house construction in the industry. There are no bad questions when it comes to choosing the company that will build your tiny house: number of years of activity, references from previous customers, existing building permits, guarantees offered, production times, etc.
Timid Investors
Banking institutions are much more reluctant to finance the purchase or construction of a tiny house, which is worth less than a traditional house. Desjardins is a pioneer and has been accepting mortgage lending for a tiny home, including tiny homes on wheels, for several years. Otherwise, many owners will need to save or even apply for a personal loan, line of credit, or recreational vehicle loan.
Do-it-yourself… A solution?
The decision to build all or part of your tiny house yourself allows savings of between 20% and 50%, depending on the level of participation. Anyone who decides to build their own must comply with the requirements of their municipality in accordance with the building code. Vigilance is required because dreams can turn into nightmares.
First rent
It is better to rent a tiny house for a short or longer stay before owning one. Sites offer accommodation for short or long stays, such as Nature Nature with 15 micro-huts in Saint-Jean-des-Piles in Mauricie.
Photo screenshot of the naturenature.ca website
First of all, it is better to rent a tiny house to see if this lifestyle is really what we want.