A tiny solution to a major housing crisis in Halifax

According to Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, a planned $9.5 million dollar affordable tiny home community, to be built in Lower Sackville, N.S., is an example of finding a creative solution to tackle an important housing problem.

“It is out of the box for us, because we haven’t really done it before,” said Savage.

Fifty-two homes will be built on HRM surplus land. The first 30 units should have tenants moving in by next summer.

“The tiny home solution was brought to the city,” said Savage. “We introduced it to the province, and the province liked it and said this makes sense.”

This concept is already working in Fredericton. The 12 Neighbours Tiny Home Community features small buildings that cost roughly $50,000 each to build, and they currently house dozens of residents.

Home builder Jacqueline Landry wants to introduce tiny home communities to Cape Breton.

“Each would cost less than $30,000 to build,” said Landry, who added the sale price would likely be higher.

Landry has already converted a shed into a tiny house.

“I’m not so naïve to think that you could move a family into a tiny home,” said Landry. But she does believe it would be perfect as a single-person dwelling.

Landry has pitched the startup idea to the Eastern District Planning Commission in Port Hawkesbury.

“I would like to build 600 square-foot, smaller homes with six of them along the property,” said Landry. “That’s absolutely doable.”

It would be a safe and affordable community designed to depressurize the housing crisis in her community. Landry has formed a new home-building company, and she hopes to build many tiny homes in the near future.

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