Make the most of your outdoor space and create a home away from home in your backyard with the help of Emmanuel Belliveau and his company, Eva Lanes.

What is a great way to make extra income? Or better yet, what is a better way to live alongside family and be comfortable with your day-today life? One new possibility is to make your extra space a home. You can do this with the company Eva Lanes and its Laneway Living Suites, creating tiny luxurious suites in your backyard. The common question right now would be, “What exactly is a Laneway Suite?” Do not worry, we have the answer.

We had the chance to chat with Emmanuel Belliveau, who is a resident expert and local celebrity as a renowned television host on the ever-popular HGTV show World’s Greenest Homes and co-host on My Parents’ House. He also brings a passion for transforming rundown and outdated properties into modern and stylish dwellings. Belliveau is also well-versed in architecture and design, and he brings all of this expertise to his role as the founder and CEO of Eva Lanes.

“Laneway Living is actually an opportunity to take advantage of neighbourhoods in Toronto that are already established and hard to get into, because with Laneway Living, what you’re allowed to do now is put two primary residences on a laneway lot in specific areas where the program is valid, which wasn’t available to Toronto before June 27 [when] the bylaw changed with the introduction of Bill 825 and [Bill] 826,” says Belliveau.

Basically, you can change the extra space that sits in-between your house and the laneway into a living area, studio, nook or any living space that you choose.

This also allows owners or renters to branch out from the traditional condo living. It provides an opportunity for folks to have a home and to put a personal touch on their living space. Not only is there an opportunity for third-party renters, but also Laneway Living gives families the opportunity to keep their legacies alive within their homes and properties.

“Laneway Living is actually an opportunity to take advantage of neighbourhoods in Toronto that are already established and hard to get into”

Millennials and even intergenerational families can utilize these properties as shifts in society are constantly occurring. More times than not, millennials are saving their housing funds for smaller places to live, and older generations are wanting to keep their independence while living close to their families. With Laneway Living, families can benefit by keeping their parents close by while still remaining distant enough to live independently each day.

The millennial generation can also benefit, as their feet may still be getting wet in the workplace post-university. This gives them the chance to be independent in a more affordable and comfortable way, rather than living in a rundown space that can feel like the ceiling is about to collapse at any second. The realization is, people from young adults to those more advanced in years can all benefit with an extra space to stay in that they can call “home.”

Better yet, these folks do not necessarily have to worry about how the new property will work out — from permits to foundation and the traditional headaches of homeowning — because Eva Lanes handles all of that.

The Laneway Living Suites of Eva Lanes offer a comprehensive process, from conceptualization and design to securing permits through the city and building. “Eva Lanes offers a turnkey approach to laneway development for anyone. We do a free site assessment to see if you would qualify, design and engineer the project, submit for permits, build and have access to financing options,” says Belliveau. The company also assesses foundations of properties in order to build the proper living quarters for all sorts of occupancies.

Eva Lanes also aims to provide more homes for renters in the Greater Toronto Area, as well as provide additional income to property owners and the housing market.

“You are adding value to a property by making another opportunity to create income on that property,” continues Belliveau. “Some might see it as a deterrent for some neighbourhoods. But you figure there are some neighbourhoods that people just gravitate toward living in, and the more doors there are that can be rented, the better it is for those scenarios. The fewer number of doors there are, the higher the rent goes up. The more doors there are, the rent has a chance to somewhat level out,” he says.

“A Laneway Suite could have one person, two people or could also have a small family. So, what kind of [housing market] dent will that have? I figure from a feasible perspective, there are almost 10,000 eligible houses in Toronto. If you could add a thousand homes to a rental market, that would do something for the market.”

To learn more about Eva Lanes and see if your property qualifies for a Laneway Living Suite, visit its website at www.evalanes.com.

Written by Shaun Melady

Interview by Victoria Scott

@eva.lanes
@myfloro