Calling all older adult North Shore homeowners!

Participate in our Housing Solutions Lab, and together we’ll find smart ways to make it easier and more beneficial to home-share and rent secondary suites.

Are you considering renting out a secondary suite or sharing your home with others but don’t know where to begin? You are far from alone. Potential benefits include extra income, companionship, help with chores and healthcare needs, and opportunities to age at home instead of downsizing through moving.

SFU’s Housing Solution Lab brings together interested community members to share their perspectives and experiences with renting secondary suites or sharing their homes with others. What supports could municipalities put in place to make it easier? Could services be provided through existing organizations that would smooth the transition? These are the types of questions we’ll be exploring.

SFU’s Renewable Cities and Hollyburn Community Services Society launched the Housing Solutions Lab in January 2023. We are hosting workshops for North Shore homeowners to help identify barriers and solutions together. All learnings will inform a pilot study and a guide for distribution across Canada.

Our second two-hour workshop for older adults is taking place on two days:
Saturday, May 13 from 9:30-11:30am at the Parkgate Community Centre
Thursday, May 18 from 9:30-11:30am at Lions Gate Community Centre

The content will be the same at each session. You must be a North Shore Homeowner (55+) to participate at this time. Participants can receive an honorarium ($100) as an expression of appreciation, and to help cover costs for attending (e.g. transport, time and childcare). 

Can’t make our workshop or looking for other ways to contribute? Complete our 20-minute survey to help us learn more about your interest in the Housing Solutions Lab, and to share your experiences, priorities and challenges with home-sharing and secondary suites.

This workshop will feature:

• Opportunities to connect with other North Shore homeowners interested in exploring home-sharing and secondary suites 
• Discussions about supports and services to help homeowners successfully age in place 
• Identifying solutions that help clear the path for transitions to these new housing options  
• Learning about how home-sharing, secondary suites and coach houses support seniors’ healthcare, the climate and the housing crisis 

Project Funding:

The North Family Foundation contributed catalytic project financing to the Hollyburn Community Service Society. Additional funding partners include Vancity and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Social isolation, housing affordability and climate change are all growing issues on the North Shore, and across Canada. More than half of single detached homes in Canada are occupied by only one or two people, and older adults represent a large portion of this. Despite many homeowners being interested in renting out secondary suites or sharing their homes with others, uptake remains low due to diverse barriers.

SFU’s Housing Solutions Lab aims to co-create a roadmap for solutions that build social connection, address housing affordability, offer options for aging in place and positively benefit the climate.

You’ll be able to learn more by reading the full project scope here. Recent media of the Housing Solutions Lab includes coverage including Global News and the North Shore News.

For more information, please get in touch with Rebekah Parker (rebekah_parker@sfu.ca) at Renewable Cities.