When Jawn Lafratta purchased his 17,000 sq.ft. property on Gabriola Island in 2017, he had a vision to build a tiny home village, a way to live and provide housing for the community he long wished to call home.

But that dream quickly disappeared.

Faced with bylaws that wouldn’t allow for secondary suites, he pivoted to a 1,500 sq.ft Nickel Brothers house to live in and rent out the remaining rooms. While the house was compliant with Gabriola bylaws, Lafratta could not count the income from renting rooms in the house he lived in as income toward his mortgage.

Lafratta decided to rent the house to a family of five, and moved to the lower mainland, unable to both keep his property and live on it. This changed, however, when he lost his job.

Not knowing what to do, and unable to afford to

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