House Swap

Forty years ago, my husband and I bought a home on a 50-acre plot. Now we live ina prefab granny flat in our own backyard.

- Cathy Rivoire

IN APRIL OF 2020, my daughter, Caitlyn, was thinking about selling her home. She worked as a teacher and lived with her three dogs in Smiths Falls, Ontario, but she eventually wanted to settle down on a larger rural property with some acreage. My husband, Gord, and I have lived on a 50-acre plot in Lombardy, Ontario, for the past 40 years. Caitlyn joked that Gord and I should apply for a land severance to create a separate lot for her to purchase. To her surprise, we were both on board.

Our initial plan was to sever the two acres of property where our home was and allow Caitlyn to build her own house on the remaining 48 acres. But after much correspondence with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, we learned this wasn't possible. Instead, they suggested we look into a garden suite or granny flat: a small home typically built in a backyard adjacent to the main home. At first, I wasn't thrilled with the idea. I was under the impression, like a lot of people, that a granny flat is one step up from a trailer.