The scaling up of the tiny house niche in Quebec – transformations and continuities in the housing regime

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes recent developments within the tiny house niche from a sustainability transition perspective through a case study in Quebec, Canada. The methods include documentation of tiny house developments and semi-structured interviews. The main findings are that most tiny houses in Quebec are being built as conventional, single-use, low-density, single-family detached home developments on greenfield in remote locations. Thus, recent developments in the tiny house niche resulted in incremental rather than radical changes to the housing regime practices. Furthermore, rural municipalities facing devitalisation are more prone to accepting greenfield development for their short-term benefits, while medium cities and municipalities in metropolitan areas are only planning to authorise tiny houses as accessory dwelling units as part of an infill development strategy. This suggests that tiny houses are contributing to a pattern of uneven geographical development. Interviews point at two systemic barriers that explain why tiny houses are developed in this way: the political economy of housing and sustainable urban planning policies and regulations. In the discussion, we suggest actions at the municipal, provincial and federal levels to use the enthusiasm for tiny houses to further an urban sustainability transition agenda.

KEYWORDS:

• Tiny house
• accessory dwelling unit
• sustainable housing
• sustainable urban transition
• sustainable transition

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding details

This work was supported by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Société et Culture (FRQSC) by way of a doctoral research grant [256063].

Notes

1 An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is an additional residential unit that occupies the same lot as a primary residence. Legally an ADU is part of the same property as the main home. It cannot be bought or sold separately, as a condominium or a dwelling on wheels might be.

2 The survey asked municipalities: 1) the minimum square footage required for a SFD home; 2) the minimum lot frontage required for a SFD home; 3) the types of foundations that are accepted for a SFD home: a) concrete slab; b) bored piles or blocks; c) wheels; d) excavated foundations; and 4) in what zones tiny houses (56m²/600ft² or less) are authorised: a) urban zone; b) periurban zone; c) in a specific neighbourhood; d) anywhere in the municipality; e) nowhere. The survey also included room for comments.

3 See this link to access the map on the organisation website: https://minimaison.org/ou-sinstaller/ and this link to access it directly on Google Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1Lk92BltFoT1OVxY1Aoy1eJiFYHg79JvP&ll=46.1212617431952%2C-70.88615005&z=6.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Guillaume Lessard

Guillaume Lessard has completed a PhD in Urban Studies at l’Institut de la Recherche Scientifique in Montréal, Québec. He specialises in sustainable housing policies and the sustainable urban transition and has studied tiny houses and accessory dwelling units. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Waterloo University and McMaster University.