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Our industry relies on codified requirements to ensure our buildings are appropriate for their context, perform to minimum standards, and maintain the health and safety of occupants. Zoning by-laws, building codes and municipal regulations provide a carefully crafted framework applicable to a wide variety of circumstances while preserving design freedom and creativity.

Over the last 2 years, we have secured permits for over thirty laneway suites. Every project is different and we are always carrying forward our experiences to inform future proposals. However, implementing this new typology has illuminated several regulatory grey areas where inconsistent interpretations have created challenges in gaining approvals.

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Investing in your property is a big commitment. Whether during a pandemic or not, your decisions will impact your family’s life and finances for the indefinite future. What remains constant is the importance of assembling a team that you trust to both exceed your project goals and educate you in making the right decisions along the way. Like many industries, ours has been challenged by temporary closures, financial uncertainty, and remote teamwork. In this new normal, we have relied on our standardized process to ensure our level of service and schedules remain unaffected. The medium may have changed, but our message remains the same; trust and quality stem from experience, communication and enthusiasm for challenging the status quo.[Read More…]

Lanescape presents its fourth episode of the laneway suite video series. Here our co-founder, Andrew Sorbara summarizes the fundamental requirements for your property to qualify for an as-of-right laneway suite. How does your lot provide access for emergency services? What happens to mail delivery, garbage collection or when you call an Uber? What if you have a large mature tree on the lot? Through simple diagrams, Andrew illustrates all these items and more.

Stay tuned for laneway suite videos covering a wide range of topics surrounding the new typology. In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for upcoming events, policy information, and project updates.

In December, 2019 the City of Toronto began offering a standard agreement for homeowners to share a portion of a neighbouring property in order to satisfy the laneway suite’s emergency access requirements. In the case where emergency access can not be provided via the laneway, the municipality requires you to provide via a side yard walkway measuring at least 2.1m high and 0.9m wide extending from the front yard to the rear. Prior to the agreement, this meant that lots with limited side yard setbacks would not be eligible to construct a laneway suite. 

Appropriately dubbed the “Limiting Distance Agreement” (or LDA), this document allows the 0.9m wide access route to span over your property line, reserving the space between two neighbouring buildings as a mutual access route to the laneway suite. [Read More…]

Lanescape presents its third episode of the laneway suite video series. Our co-founder Alex Sharpe compares the costs, rental return, and nuances of investing in a laneway suite versus a typical condominium in Toronto.

Stay tuned for laneway suite videos covering a wide range of topics surrounding the new typology. In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for upcoming events, policy information, and project updates.