So-called Medieval Villages are being touted as a potential solution to housing affordability in Canada, offering off-the-grid homes at an unbeatable price.
Anthony Barrett, project manager of Boreal Forest Medieval Villages located in the Timiskaming District in northern Ontario, said the homes are essentially campgrounds with farms that are built in unorganized townships, where no building permits are required.
"The nice part is that through this we’ve dealt with affordability issues. It’s very inexpensive to invest in the property, and it provides people security," he told CTV’s Your Morning on Thursday.
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Barrett said the properties are a half acre in size, do not have access to plumbing, and go for $2,400, with property taxes totalling about $18 per year. However, Barrett noted the villages are not to be confused with cosplay related to the Middle Ages.
"Medieval villages is a world where we have limits — we have energy limits and we have waste limits and we manage all these systems ourselves," Barrett explained.
Boreal Forest Medieval Villages had three projects for its communities, totalling over 800 acres of land.
While no building permit is required, property owners are expected to adhere to certain rules. For example, septic tanks are banned, so residents must rely on either an incinerator or compost toilet.
"When we’re talking about people wanting to own property and want their own place and want to manage their own food supply, it’s considered radical. That says a lot about where we are todaxjmtzywy as a society," Barrett said.
Barrett says Boreal Forest Medieval Villages is an eco-friendly community, where residents grow and harvest their own food and use sustainable power sources, such as solar panels. He added that the community can do this because it is located in an unorganized township, rather than a municipality with an administrative body.
"People get to grow their own vegetables, raise their own personal chickens… pretty basic stuff, but it’s things that we just simply can’t [or] we’re not allowed to do in typical municipalities. So it just gives us a lot of a lot of freedom to develop the kind of community that we’re looking for," he said.
Barrett said the main draw for people is that this is essentially the most affordable housing option in the province.
According to real estate company WOWA’s latest housing market report, the average home price in Canada’s housing market was $748,439 in January 2022, up 20 per cent from last year.
As well, Barrett noted the villages interest those looking to move out of bustling cities and live in nature, something that has become more desirable for people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We’re getting people from all over Ontario all over Canada, and outside of Canada who see this as a real alternative," he said.
