Burnaby laneway homes to aid with affordable housing issue: developers

On Monday, Burnaby will begin accepting applications to build laneway homes, after approval from city council this week.

A laneway house, sometimes referred to as a granny flat, coach house or infill housing, is a supplementary unit that backs onto the back lane of a property, separate from the primary residence.

Lee-Ann Garnett, deputy general manager of planning and development for the City of Burnaby, says the homes are “…an important piece of the housing supply going forward.”

Garnett says city staff have been discussing accepting applications for laneway homes since 2021, and a recent survey found 78 percent of residents supported building them.

Chanchal Heer, managing director at Heer Properties Group, says he’s been building homes since the nineties and the demand for laneway homes started picking up in 2010.

In Vancouver and New Westminster, where laneway homes are already permitted, Heer says he’s already built dozens of laneway homes. Now, he already has customers asking for them in Burnaby.

“It’s hard to find rental properties, so it’s a good idea to change your garage into a laneway house,” Heer said. “Plus you get privacy. Not like a basement suite.”

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In Vancouver, Heer says he’s currently building one that will take seven to nine months once permits have been approved. It’s a three bedroom laneway house, which he says could rent for $2,700 per month in Burnaby.

According to rental website Zumper, Burnaby is the third most expensive city in Canada for rentals, with the average one-bedroom costing approximately $2,500 per month.

Paul Heer, project manager at Heer Properties Group, says this is an exciting development for Burnaby. He says laneway homes can be built a lot faster and at a lower price point than the traditional home.

“Rentals aren’t cheap. It’s very expensive to rent a property these days and it’s hard to get one,” Paul said. “But the more we build, the more houses that we have, will definitely help curb the affordable housing issue.”