We’ve stated this before here.
Laneway house-eligible properties are EXTREMELY rare in Toronto.
First of all, they are not permitted outside the City of Toronto. So not Brampton, not Mississauga etc. So not GREATER Toronto, just Toronto proper.
Secondly, to be eligible, the property must meet the guideline of Toronto’s Changing Lanes program. That means that it has to be located on a public laneway (a private easement or shared driveway does not count).
It also must meet several fire access criteria, including minimum distance from a fire hydrant, and other access issues related to the siting of the existing house on the property.
And finally, there are just some lots that are too small to accommodate a laneway house, as there are minimum setbacks required in order to preserve back yard green space, plus a minimum setback from the laneway. So even in some instances where all other factors are met, it’s not physically possible or economical to build a laneway house on many lots.
Now, as frequent readers will know, we track every single property listed for sale in Toronto that qualifies for a laneway house build. And we compile that list every single day, and post the results HERE.
To give the reader some indication of how rare these properties are, or how rarely they go on sales, consider the results from one of the busiest listing weeks of the year – just last week.
In the City of Toronto, over 2,600 properties were listed for sale in the business week ending September 11, 2020. But of those, only a mere 44 were qualified for a laneway house build.
That’s rare!
And soon to be very valuable, we think.