Pickering woman’s tiny cottage deposit in limbo after company sues City of Hamilton over zoning bylaws

If you're considering a tiny home, you need to do plenty of research and don't just go by the seller's marketing information.

With the average price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area topping $1 million, the thought of owning a tiny home may be appealing to some buyers instead.

But when it comes to the alternative housing arrangements, there are often many rules and regulations around zoning, with some municipalities not even allowing them.

One Pickering woman liked the idea of buying a tiny home and saw one advertised on Instagram in the fall of 2023.

“My dream was to live in the country, enjoy the quiet life. That is what I wanted to do,” Janice Smith told CTV News.

Smith wanted a tiny home but found a tiny cottage, something the seller refers to as a park model RV.

“It was small, it had no stairs, it came fully furnished, it [looked] really nice in the countryside, it was perfect,” she said.

There were several locations to choose from when purchasing the tiny cottage and Smith said she chose to relocate to Ancaster, a community in Hamilton.

Smith was under the impression that she would have to purchase the tiny cottage and lease the land it was on.

“It’s a combination of a trailer, because it does have wheels [so] you can pick it up and take it wherever you want and I liked that idea as well.”

The tiny cottage Smith purchased was being sold by Resort HQ for $257,000. The company told her she needed to put down a deposit of $54,750.

Smith said she was supposed to move in last summer, but in the spring of 2024, she got a call with some bad news.

“The deal didn’t go through and there were conflicts with the municipality,” Smith said. “They just dropped the deal and didn’t go ahead with it.”

According to the City of Hamilton, the tiny cottages being sold by Resort HQ were considered illegal because they did not conform to zoning bylaws. A spokesperson told CTV News that “the City of Hamilton building division issued orders directing the removal of illegally constructed structures on the property.”

Smith was told she would get a full refund of her $54,750 deposit. She received 22 postdated cheques, but they all bounced.

“They are all [non-sufficient funds] cheques, every single one,” said Smith.

CTV News reached out to Resort HQ on Smith’s behalf and the owner of the company, Joe Accardi, said, “It has never been a question of returning the deposit or not. It will be returned.”

The company said it needed time, so CTV News waited four months and contacted Smith again to ask if her deposit had been returned. She said it hadn’t.

“Nothing has come to me. No information, no funds, nothing.”

When CTV News reached out to Resort HQ again, the company said it was taking legal action against the City of Hamilton regarding the zoning issue.

In an email to CTV News Toronto, Accardi said that the company was “very confident” in its case and continues to believe the City of Hamilton “made critical errors” in its decision.

As for Smith’s deposit, Accardi said the newest timeline to pay her back is six to nine months.

Smith’s plans to own a tiny home are now on hold indefinitely.