RESIDENTS of a tiny home village in Canada may be forced to leave their new abodes after city officials said the properties were not up to code.
Many of the inhabitants of Ancaster Springs Resort in Hamilton opted into the community in the hopes of finding economic stability and independence with a new tiny home.
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Now, several residents are afraid of becoming homeless after the land they leased to house their tiny buildings failed an inspection by the city, according to The Hamilton Spectator.
Hamilton city officials ordered the resort landowner, Ancaster Springs Investments Inc., to immediately apply for construction permits or remove the structures — many of which are already occupied.
The company’s president, Joe Accardi, told local reporters he had appealed the orders and that the homes are allowed on the properties as recreational vehicles.
The property has hosted trailers for several years, he added, and the tiny homes are nothing but an upgrade.
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Inspectors should not treat RVs and tiny homes differently, he said, “just because newer RVs have a nicer fridge and more open design.”
Accardi also said the tiny homes meet the RV requirements as stipulated by the Canadian Standards Association.
AN UNWELCOME SURPRISE
The resort, located just outside of Toronto, was marketed as a “recreational” or “hybrid” (or part-time) RV living site with the option of installing “tiny homes on wheels” for up to “11.5-month occupancy,” according to residents and information available on their website.
“As buyers, we were all under the impression everything was above board,” said resident Grant McVittie.
He said that he was told the units met “government standards” and that sticking to the 11.5 months of residency a year requirement would meet seasonal zoning requirements.
“Now it seems like we were sold a big lie,” he said.
McVittie learned about the resort at the Ancaster Tiny Home Show in 2022 and decided to sell his Newmarket home to pay for the life change.
The 44-year-old moved into his new 389-square-foot home with his 10-year-old son and dog last year for $160,000.
He also paid another $7,500 to lease the land his tiny home is occupying for a year alongside his partner in a nearby house.
He planned on renting an Airbnb for two weeks in January to stick to the residency requirement.
McVittie said he started to get nervous about the situation when he never received a formal lease document from the management company after signing the paperwork and paying his deposit.
Trouble finding a home for tiny homes
Tiny home dwellers in several cities and states have faced backlash from city officials after trying to set up their own tiny homes:
His complaints to Ancaster Springs resort have gone ignored since then, he claimed.
McVittie added that other promised amenities are also lacking, such as regular garbage pickup and problems with utilities.
A BAD INVESTMENT
Other properties owned by Accardi have faced legal and financial problems in the last year too.
The company faces a court claim from BFT Mortgage Services for a $3 million mortgage that is in default and another $10,000 claim from a contractor who said he was never paid, according to The Spec.
Ancaster Springs residents are now unsure if they can legally stay on the land they have leased and are unaware of where may be a better option to go.
“It feels like we’re basically stuck unless we can find a farmer willing to rent us a patch of land,” McVittie said.
“This whole thing has completely soured me on the [tiny homes] lifestyle. It’s sad because I had hoped to retire in this home.”
Representatives for Joe Accardi and Ancaster Springs Investments Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
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