VANCOUVER -- For those caught in the real-estate crunch, a "mortgage helper in the sky" could be the answer to their prayers.

Real estate experts say apartments with built-in rental suites point to the future for families looking for new ways to pay the mortgage.

It's been a long-time practice to build rental basement suites in houses, but suites in condos are a new idea.

About 40 of the three-bedroom units have already been sold at the UniverCity project at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

UniverCity's President Michael Geller said owners get a three-bedroom condo, with one of the bedrooms designed as a self-contained suite.

Each 22.3-square-metre room has its own entrance off the main corridor, with a bed, bathroom and kitchen.

SFU students, who had been living around the campus in basement suites, snapped up the units.

"A lot of the students said these condos are all going to be for rich people, there won't be anywhere for students to live," Geller said.

"So I thought why couldn't we have basement suites in a condominium on the fifth floor."

Geller said the model could work around the Lower Mainland of B.C., where housing prices are among the highest in the country.

"The idea could apply everywhere," he said.

"Lots of people would buy a three-bedroom apartment, if maybe they could rent out that third bedroom for a while, until such time as their household is big enough.

"You know what I should call it? It's a mortgage-helper in the sky. It's a mortgage-helper, and it's a way of delivering affordable housing. It's just like the basement suite."

Intergulf Development Group, which built the condos, designed the flex-suites either to be rented out, or occupied by another family member who wanted some independence.

"That particular part of the unit is self-sufficient," said Intergulf spokesman Kais Samarrai.

"It has its own bathroom and kitchen, and it's connected through a door to the main space."

The condos are a mortgage-helper, Samarrai said, but they could also be bought by empty-nesters who want to downsize.

Urban experts hailed the idea at a forum on affordable housing design in Vancouver Friday.

Former Vancouver councillor Gordon Price said the renters get privacy and live separately from the apartment owners.

"You're going to have to be far more innovative so you have a mix, a different kind of range of housing," said Price.

"It may be that there are choices that will give people options to get into the market, or stay in housing that we wouldn't have had otherwise, because the option simply didn't exist."

Architect Bruce Haden said people in Vancouver have to get used to the idea they won't be able to afford a single-family home.

"What it does is build in housing flexibility, which is enormously important," said Haden. "It's not a solution, but it's certainly part of a solution."

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan said his EcoDensity plan will put more housing units in the city, with a broader mix of options.

Sullivan said he would look at reducing parking-stalls in new condo buildings to reduce prices.

"What we need to do is make sure there are different sizes, throughout the different areas of the city, that we can make more housing available," said Sullivan.

"By increasing the supply, you will have a downward effect on the price."

Vancouver Province

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