4 generations on 1 lot: One family's creative response to B.C.'s housing crisis

A single lot in Delta, B.C., that used to be home to a single rancher built in the 80s is the site of four separate homes, housing four generations of the same family.

The property and what its owners have done with it is generating buzz online, after international YouTuber Kirsten Dirksen posted a video that has racked up hundreds of thousands of views since it was posted on Sunday.

With many young people unable to enter the housing market and many seniors struggling with housing, long-time Delta residents John and Kathleen Higgins built the homes for their two children and 94-year-old mother.

“There’s so much demand for affordable home ownership. Not just rental, not just subsidized government, but home ownership on the ground. That’s what people want”, explains Kathleen.

The idea formed in 2013 when John, also a professional architect, created a cardboard model of the project and Kathleen pitched it to their neighbours.

The city of Delta greenlit the project in 2016, and the family moved in three years later.

“I was always sketching off the corner of my desk as to what we could do with this lot”, explains John.

"It seems to be a thing about suburban houses, that a lot of the land is not really used well.”

It’s a logical and cost-effective solution to combat the housing crisis, but also allows the family to create an intergenerational arrangement that benefits them all.

“My mom can live here basically until she passes away and we’re supporting her so that she doesn’t need to go into assisted living,” says Kathleen.

'Wouldn’t have been possible'

The Higgins’ son James says purchasing a home for his growing family in a region notorious for sky-high prices and limited supply would have been out of reach.

“There’s no way we would be able to have our own 3.5 walls to ourselves, our own piece of land, that wouldn’t have been possible,” he says.

James and his wife Caitlin have two young boys and are expecting another child, and they also appreciate being so close to family.

“I love being able to live here still with the huge bonus of having my children’s grandparents next door," James says.

"I am always looking around, remembering my times during the summers – running around and reliving that. It's beautiful.”

Patrick Condon, chair of urban design at the University of British Columbia's school of architecture, says the family's situation speaks to the larger issue of affordability.

“While this solution is good for that family, it does indicate the fact that the land price for urban land in our region makes housing inaccessible for people with average wages.”

Kathleen hopes the provincial and federal governments will create tax credits to help cover some of the costs for projects like this, so more families can benefit.

She hopes her family’s experience will inspire others to follow suit and use their project as a blueprint.

And that may already be happening as one of the Higgins' neighbours has plans to create home for his family on a 14,000-square-foot lot.