If you've got an aging family member who is facing the difficult choice of having to move out of the family home, you know how hard it can be. It's good to know there are options available that can help keep them close, but still allow independence -- for both of you. In some communities, granny flats, also known as garden suites, are allowed, and they are a great option to consider.
Garden suite refers to those small, movable housing units that can be set up, temporarily, next to existing homes. Usually they are modular and prefabricated, delivered to the site and assembled. They are not intended to be permanent buildings. They also aren't the same thing as an in-law suite, which refers to an apartment within a house.
Garden suites provide a safe, secure and close-by residence for elderly relatives that allows for independence and privacy. This reduces caregiver burnout and makes semi-independent living possible.
Of course, garden suites have to meet municipal building and zoning bylaws. According to the CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation), agreements are made involving the host family, the occupants, the supplier of the unit and the municipality. Some municipalities are more flexible than others, so check with your local government before going ahead.
Garden suites are a temporary solution to a short-term accommodation problem. You might be considering adding onto the existing home, or modifying it, so an elderly person can live with the rest of the family. But doing a major renovation to a home only makes sense if those changes will be wanted in the long term, and that's not always the case.
Many renovations may be needed to accommodate a person with special needs -- for example, a person in a wheelchair -- and these can be expensive. Doorways may need to be widened, bathrooms altered, countertops lowered, lifts and ramps installed and so on. A garden suite eliminates the need to reverse any renovations you do just to accommodate the elderly person.
Most garden suites contain a kitchen and living area, bathroom and one, or even two, small bedrooms. They range from about 500 to 700 square feet. So these small units are easy to install and place at proper distances from property lines and other structures. And their compact size also makes cleaning and maintaining them relatively easy.
The cash outlay is much less than for a traditional home, because you are only buying a building and not land. New garden suites start at about $45,000, but that doesn't include external water, sewage and electricity hookup costs. And it doesn't include transporting the unit to the site. Transporting it a greater distance costs more. If a crane is needed to manoeuvre the unit into place, costs can begin to mount.
Almost all garden suites installed in Canada are manufactured elsewhere and delivered to the site. There are several manufacturers of garden suites in each region of the country. Prefabricating the units is far less expensive than building them on-site.
Portability also allows owners to remove and resell the suites -- most of which have a lifespan of about 25 years. Buying a pre-owned unit further reduces costs. Most Canadian manufacturers of garden suites provide everything from bathroom fixtures and kitchen cabinets to interior and exterior finishes. Interior plumbing and wiring, ready for external hookups to external systems, are also included. Check with the manufacturer for options and installation costs.
All prefabricated garden suites must comply with the National Building Code of Canada requirements under the certification provisions of the Canadian Standards Association.
Garden suites are not a new invention -- they've been around for years. But only recently have municipalities started removing bureaucratic barriers to this housing solution. There are some government and CMHC programs for eligible citizens to get financial assistance for putting up a secondary self-contained unit. Check with CMHC for details.
Governments are offering relief from additional taxation as an incentive to get more people to choose this option. Some municipalities will exclude the units from assessment, since they are only temporary structures. That way, they don't affect property values -- unlike any renovation you'll do.
Successful renovating often requires thinking outside the box, as the saying goes. In this case, the box may be your family home, and the best solution to helping Grandma or Grandpa stay out of a nursing home may involve putting up a separate building in your backyard.
-- Postmedia News
Catch Mike in his brand-new series, Holmes Inspection, airing Thursdays at 8 ET/PT on HGTV. For more information, visit www.hgtv.ca. Do you have a question about home renovations? Email mikemakeitright.ca
