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Freehold Tenure Row Housing
Introduction
An objective of the Greater Vancouver Regional District’s Livable Region Strategic Plan is to encourage development of ground-oriented medium-density housing, to provide a greater range of housing options to better use the region’s limited urban land supply. An example of this type of housing is row housing, which are attached townhouses or row houses of three or more units. Row housing with fee-simple ownership, similar to detached single family homes, is an attractive option for residents seeking an alternative to strata-titled units.Background
In 2003, in partnership with the Ministry of Community Services, the Greater Vancouver Regional District reviewed the barriers to the production of more freehold tenure row housing in the region. Findings of this review are reported in a discussion paper
(684 KB) and a companion document
(2.4 MB)which provides a summary and a portfolio of case studies. The Discussion Paper
had the following goals:
- improve public understanding of, and interest in, freehold tenure row housing;
- identify the relative merits of this type and tenure of housing, as a liveable housing choice;
- identify issues of developers, local governments, and prospective buyers in their respective concerns surrounding this type of housing; and
- make recommendations to address these issues.
The report covered the following topics:
- current examples within the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the City of Abbotsford and in Ontario;
- market and consumer demands;
- neighbourhood acceptance;
- development industry hesitancy; and
- planning and production constraints from regional and local government policies.
Conclusion
The study concluded that freehold tenure row housing can provide liveable, compact, affordable and accessible housing which can be compatible with existing neighbourhoods. The study’s action plan proposes increasing the public profile and reducing development constraints on the production of this housing type.Electronic copies of the discussion paper and companion document for
“Freehold Tenure Row Housing - An Examination of
Development Potential and Constraints in the Greater Vancouver Region”
are available on the GVRD website.
For additional publications on housing policy
http://www.housing.gov.bc.ca/housing/
