This article appeared previously on CambridgeToday.
Anyone thinking of turning their backyard shed into a tiny home, their basement man cave into an in-law suite, or the first floor into a two-unit income opportunity, is invited to hear about the city's new plan to offer cash incentives to homeowners.
If approved, the city could begin handing over up to $10,000 to residents who renovate their homes for rental opportunities as early as January.
A public meeting Sept. 10 will go over the details of the Additional Residential Unit (ARU) Community Improvement Program (CIP) first proposed last month.
The program would use $1.5 million of the $13 million the city is eligible to receive from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to generate more housing stock and is one of nine initiatives the city committed to implementing as part of the program administered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Rebates would go to eligible applicants for things like upgrading of sanitary and water services, professionally prepared permit drawings, and hard construction costs, including labour and materials.
Converting single-family homes into duplexes and triplexes is nothing new, but it's an option that gained popularity in recent years as mortgage rates soared and the affordability crisis deepened.
Cambridge residents have been able to build up to two rental units within their homes or on urban lots since 2022, but this is the first time the city has handed out grants to help boost their popularity.
Each unit must have its own cooking facility, sanitary facility and sleeping area, that either forms part of and is attached to the principal dwelling or is located within a detached building on the same lot as the principal dwelling.
Cambridge homeowners constructed 252 ARUs last year, with the cost to build ranging from $3,600 to $486,000.
The average cost to convert living space into a rental unit was $47,232.
Staff estimate as few as 150 applicants could access the funding but as many as 600 could apply for the limited program.
Applications would be evaluated on a first-come, first-served basis.
As for next steps; feedback from next week's public meeting will inform a staff report and recommendation to council Oct. 8.
If approved, the program would come into effect Nov. 1 and begin accepting applications.
Money could then be distributed to applicants as soon as January, after the city submits a report to CMHC to receive its second instalment of HAF funding.
Next Tuesday's meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers and will be hybrid with both in-person and virtual attendance options.
Residents who want to appear as a delegation can fill out the online form.
