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Toronto
Father moved into son's backyard coach house
— then the city came knocking
Coach houses illegal for residential use, but advocates say it’s time to
change that
Farrah Merali · CBC News ·
Posted: Aug 31, 2020 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 31, 2020
Bill Wilson, left, is pictured with his son, Rod, who moved him into the coach house in the backyard
of his property on Kingston Road. City officials ordered the elder Wilson out a year later. (Richard
Agecoutay/CBC)
Two years ago, Bill Wilson made the decision to move back to Toronto from
London, Ont. He'd lost his wife and his daughter within the span of just a few
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London, Ont. He'd lost his wife and his daughter within the span of just a few
months, and his son, Rod, had a home in the city.
"I had nobody there left, and my health was to the point that I thought I'd better
make a move. I don't want my son travelling all the way to London to see me in
the hospital or anything," said Wilson, who was 89 at the time.
"So I phoned [Rod] up and I said, 'Rod, I think it's time I came home.' And he said,
'OK, it's about time.'"
Wilson moved into a two-floor coach house in the backyard of a property his son
owns but doesn't live at himself. But within a year, he was forced to leave.
"The city said, 'You can't have a separate living space on your property unless it's
… backing onto a public laneway," said Rod Wilson.
In 2018, the city amended its zoning bylaw to allow for laneway suites — detached
homes that back onto a laneway. But under current rules, coach houses — also
known as garden suites or backyard houses — are not legally permitted for
residential use in Toronto.
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The coach house, left, sits at the rear of Rod Wilson's house on his property. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)
In a city that's in dire need of more rental housing stock —with low vacancy rates
and ballooning prices — advocates say it's time Toronto allowed coach houses like
Wilson's for residential use.
In July, the city passed a motion to expand housing options in the city. While coach
houses are included in its list, it's unclear how long the consultation process will
take and whether there will be enough support to move ahead to formally allow
residential coach houses in Toronto.
'It was just perfect'
Rod Wilson bought the property on Kingston Road near Woodbine Avenue in
1998, and has since rented out the coach house in the backyard to artists and
musicians.
Prior to his father moving in, he said he'd made modifications to the coach house,
but it already had electricity, water, a bathroom and a kitchenette before he
bought the property.
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A snapshot of the inside of Rod Wilson's coach house. There are stairs that lead up to a bathroom with a
shower and another living area. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)
Wilson said a survey traces the coach house back to the 1920s. He believes it was
once used as a barn for the adjacent home. It's now a two-floor, one-bathroom
unit with a kitchen.
"It's not something that I threw up — a little 12-by-12 shed and put a plug in there
with a hot plate and a kettle. It's an actual living space," said Wilson, who moved
his father in the fall of 2018.
Describing the moment he first saw it, Bill Wilson said, "He opened the door and
he said, 'This is yours.' And I just took a look and just fell in love with it. It was just
just perfect."
WATCH | City orders father out of backyard coach house on property owned
by his son:
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City orders father out of son's backyard coach house
3 years ago | 0:40
Bill Wilson moved into a coach house on a property owned by his son in the fall of 2018. City officials have
since ordered the elder Wilson out.
Rod Wilson said a complaint from a neighbour prompted a visit from a city
inspector, who informed Wilson that under the city's rules, his coach house
couldn't be used for residential purposes. Wilson said it was the first he'd heard of
that.
"Because it had been here for so long, I thought it would have been
grandfathered in as an existing building that has been here," said Wilson.
Wilson then set out to try to modify the space to make it legal. He said he worked
with a drafting company and a lawyer and took the matter to the city. He said he
was told the matter had to go to the Committee of Adjustment, but his application
was denied at a September 2019 meeting.
WATCH | Bill Wilson and his son Rod show us around the backyard coach
house:
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Father and son show us around the backyard coach house
3 years ago | 0:51
Bill Wilson and his son Rod show us around the backyard coach house that Bill was ordered to vacate by
city officials.
"We had 23 letters of support from surrounding neighbours. And one of the
gentlemen on the committee said, 'It wouldn't matter if you had the support of
the whole city. It's still illegal,'" said Wilson.
City's stance
So why aren't coach houses permitted as residential living spaces in Toronto?
According to the city's chief planner, though they exist throughout the city, they
were never included in formal zoning laws.
"The post-war city — the inner suburbs of the city, parts of Etobicoke, North York
and Scarborough — they grew up around the concept of one building, one lot,"
said Gregg Lintern.
• Toronto must be 'brave' and enact bold new zoning laws to confront
housing crisis, advocates say
• Laneway home advocates hope for more approvals amid city's 'housing
crisis'
"Those kinds of rules were put in place in the zoning bylaw over a long period of
time."
Lintern said approximately 10 years ago, the issue was brought before council,
but said there wasn't an appetite for change within neighbourhoods, and there
were outstanding questions about infrastructure and safety.
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Rod Wilson said a complaint from a neighbour about his father living in the coach house prompted a visit
from a city inspector. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)
But things have changed since then — most notably, the housing market. Last
month, city council passed a motion to explore opportunities for new housing
options in the city.
The motion stems from the idea of the "missing middle" — that is, the lack of
housing that falls somewhere between large detached houses and small high-rise
condos in the city.
"The first priority actually is to look at garden suites or coach houses," said
Lintern.
Evolving city needs
Other cities have moved more quickly.
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Other cities have moved more quickly.
"Windsor already allows it, Hamilton, Ottawa. They're way ahead of Toronto in this
respect, and I hope we can catch up to them soon," said Sean Galbraith, an urban
planner.
Galbraith welcomes the city's plan to look at exploring more housing options like
coach houses. He believes over time, it could have an impact on rental stock.
He noted the advantage of coach houses in that you can tap into existing spaces
rather than finding new ones.
• From co-living to micro condos, Ryerson researchers say Toronto needs
more housing innovations
• Coming to a laneway near you? Community council approves changes to
housing policy
"I think coach houses could have a fairly significant impact in the availability of
housing across the city," he said.
"If only because there are a lot of lots that have large backyards big enough to
hold … a small detached cottage. And far in excess of, for example, the laneway
suites program, where there are only so many lanes," he said.
"We need more rental housing ... We need as much of it as we can get in as many
forms and types as we can get."
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Gregg Lintern, the City of Toronto's chief planner, said the city passed a motion last month to start looking
more closely at other housing options, including coach houses. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)
Coun. Brad Bradford — who represents Ward 19, Beaches-East York, where
Wilson's property is located — said in a city that's in a housing crisis, every option
counts.
"I'm pushing for coach houses to be allowed — with the right conditions — just
like the debate we had with laneway houses a few years ago, too," he said.
"I feel for everything [Rod Wilson] and his father have gone through on this issue,"
Bradford said. "It's the kind of situation which nobody wants to be in, caught in
the space between doing something very benign and the rules simply not being in
place to make it possible."
Coach house to basement
Rod Wilson's father, who is now 91, moved into the basement of the house on the
property after his son was forced to evict his tenant of 17 years.
Bill Wilson said though he's happy to have a home, it's just not the same as the
space he fell in love with upon arrival.
"I just take every day as it comes, accept things the way they are, not the way I
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