Affordable and Attainable Housing: How modular and manufactured homes can be part of the solution

Affordable and attainable housing has become one of the most urgent concerns across the country, and the Government of Alberta is providing information for municipalities to consider as they take local action to address housing affordability.

The Government of Alberta is working with stakeholders across the province, including the Modular Housing Association Prairie Provinces, to increase awareness of the variety of housing options municipalities can utilize when tackling the issue of affordable and attainable housing. Modular and factory-built homes may offer a solution to help address the need for affordable housing.

The Municipal Government Act (MGA) and the National Building Code – 2023 Alberta Edition (Alberta Building Code) recognize multiple types of offsite-constructed buildings, including modular and manufactured housing.

Alberta Municipal Affairs participates in national standards committees related to modular or prefabricated housing construction. A national committee led by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is working to design a catalogue to help remove barriers to housing supply.

The MGA establishes the framework for local governments that provides municipal councils with the powers necessary to govern their community. The MGA focuses on three key areas: governance and administration; assessment and taxation; and planning and development.

Part 17 of the MGA provides guidance for municipal planning and development. Municipalities establish land use bylaws which may prohibit or regulate and control the use and development of land and buildings within their municipality. Part 17 for planning and development does not define building types.

Municipalities are required to comply with the Safety Codes Act and Permit Regulation. Within land use bylaws, municipalities may enable or restrict the development of building types, such as modular or prefabricated housing.

One challenge municipalities may face when considering modular or manufactured homes as a housing supply solution has been confusion around terminology.

In the MGA, Part 9, Assessment of Property, and subsequent Parts 10, 11, and 12, give municipalities the authority for assessment and taxation. This legislation provides definitions for different types of properties for assessment and taxation purposes. Property assessment definitions consider designated manufactured homes, including:

manufactured homes,
mobile homes,
modular homes, and
travel trailers.

The definitions in Part 9 of the MGA are intended to be used for taxation purposes and not all of them align with current requirements under the Safety Codes Act. Factory-constructed and other off-site-constructed buildings, such as manufactured and modular homes are required to comply with the Alberta Building Code.

Municipalities can permit, prohibit, and regulate the use and development of land and buildings in their municipality and can review their land use bylaws to enable more affordable housing options that are Alberta Building Code compliant.

The table below compares Part 9 terminology with the current and former standards applied.

Updated and refreshed definitions – we want to hear from you.

In recent years, industry advances have resulted in changes and updates to the definitions and requirements for prefabricated and modular housing. Recognizing this, the Government of Alberta will review the terminology in the MGA for clarity and consistency with the Alberta Building Code.

Want to know more?

For more information on modular and manufactured homes, please see the following resources:

Other questions?

If you have questions about modular and manufactured homes, please contact us at safety.services@gov.ab.ca.

Affordable and Attainable Housing: How modular and manufactured homes can be part of the solution

Related articles