Ottawa Valley Township turning to home-sharing service to help with affordable housing

A for rent sign is displayed on a house in a new housing development in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

A small township in Renfrew County is hoping a new home-sharing service will help address the affordable housing crisis in the area.

The Township of North Algona Wilberforce Council approved a set of recommendations to address the affordable housing situation this month, including promoting a home-sharing initiative to allow homeowners to rent out a room in their home on a temporary basis.

"There's like five million spare bedrooms, unused bedrooms, in Ontario and I'm sure we have our share in Renfrew County and North Algona Wilberforce Township," said Ish Theilheimer of the Affordable Housing Alliance of the Ottawa Valley.

"The idea is to match up people who have spare bedrooms and probably need somebody to occupy them and help with the rent or help with mortgage payments, chores with somebody who needs a place to live."

Under the plan, the township will launch an advertising campaign for the Toronto-based company Sparrow Share service, which offers a home-sharing platform.  According to the Sparrow Share website, it's a home-sharing platform and community that matches hosts who have spare bedrooms with people seeking budget-friendly places to live.

Theilheimer tells Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron residents can register on the Sparrow Share website, and township staff will be available to help. Once a resident is registered, Sparrow Share works to match up homeowners and people seeking homes based on profile compatibility and living preferences.

"They ensure the people get a good match between the homeowner and the person who needs the home."

Theilheimer says Sparrow Share staff will "make it easy" for residents by customizing the home-sharing agreement and answering questions.

"We've got an affordable housing committee in our township and we thought this would be a good thing to try, and the council agreed," Theilheimer said.

A report says the Township of North Algona Wilberforce's medium-term and long-term plans to address affordable housing includes funding from the upper levels of government for new affordable housing units. The Affordable Housing Alliance of the Ottawa Valley's goal is to build 25-30 affordable housing units across Renfrew County in four to six community-tailored projects over the medium-term.

The Township of North Algona Wilberforce includes the communities of Allans Corners, Beef Town, Deacon, Golden Lake, Lake Dore, Lett's Corners, Mud Lake and Woito.

While the township waits for word on medium-and-long-term projects to address affordable housing, Theilheimer is optimistic the home-sharing service will provide some people with a place to stay.

"My sense is there's going to be at least some take-up," Theilheimer said. "For me, if even one person finds a home who doesn't have one, I'll sleep a little better."