ALMA – In Mapleton Township, it’s okay to park a motor home or trailer (or two or even three) in your driveway, but it’s not okay for someone to use them for shelter.
It’s something Melissa Duchaine is finding out the hard way.
“I don’t have a timeframe as to when I have to be out of here,” said Duchaine, but she has been told there will be trouble for the property owner if she doesn’t go.
The 36-year-old spent a hard winter last year living in an RV parked at the home of a friend in Alma.
It was drafty and cold, and the roof leaked despite the tarp she had used for additional protection against the weather. It was not ideal, but her options were limited.
“It’s a big adjustment for sure,” said Duchaine.
A trained dental assistant, Duchaine was forced to leave her career behind three years ago due to multiple health problems, including fibromyalgia, chronic pain and tremors.
“I’m always in pain to a varying degree,” she said.
Duchaine moved out of a two-bedroom apartment in Guelph, one that she had been able to afford on her previous salary, and into her parents’ house in Harriston.
They have since sold their property, and don’t have a place for her, she said.
She is working a part-time retail job, one that allows her flexibility to work shorter shifts and switch shifts with a coworker if she’s not feeling up to coming in.
It pays just over minimum wage, just enough to pay the loan and upkeep on the pickup truck that gets her to work and back.
Duchaine got her RV in the fall of 2023 from someone at a trailer park who had about a month and a half left on the lease.
She lived at the park until the lease ran out, then parked it in Alma for the winter.
The property is home to a duplex that her friend rents from her mother, who lives in the other half of the house.
The RV provided shelter, but it wasn’t great, so when someone offered to trade Duchaine’s RV for a trailer, she took the opportunity to trade for something she regards as “a much better situation.”
She made the move to the trailer in the spring, and has been sharing the space with her three cats and a dog.
She has electricity for light and heat, and propane to cook with.
She uses her friend’s bathroom facilities, as the trailer is not hooked up to water and septic.
“I’m currently in the best situation possible for me,” Duchaine said.
But complaints from neighbours started during the transition period in the spring, when both the trailer and RV were on the lot at the same time.
The township’s bylaw department visited the property, threatening to impound the RV and bill the property owner for the expense.
When the RV was taken away, after she had moved her stuff into the trailer, Duchaine thought she had done what was needed to be allowed to stay, but she was wrong.
Christine Elsey, who owns the property and lives in the house, said there were issues in the spring related to property standards, but once the property was cleaned up, the complaints seemed to subside.
But after Duchaine’s father built a wooden vestibule for her trailer – an effort to help keep the temperature inside more stable when she’s going in and out – Elsey wasn’t surprised to hear from a bylaw officer again.
The rules are clear.
“It’s just basically a zoning violation,” said township planning and development manager Michelle Brown.
She said the township allows “accessory dwelling units” on residential properties, but they must be connected to water and some form of wastewater service. It also needs to meet certain building code standards for year-round accommodation.
“We have to make sure that it’s a safe housing option,” said Brown.
She emailed the Advertiser excerpts of the township’s zoning bylaw, with sections highlighted that state use of a mobile home as a dwelling unit is prohibited throughout the township unless a zoning bylaw amendment has been granted.
The bylaw states that parking of up to three recreational vehicles is allowed under certain conditions.
But living in those vehicles is generally not allowed.
“It’s crazy rules,” said Elsey.
“If that trailer was sitting there with nobody in it, nobody would have a complaint.”
She said she doesn’t believe the complaints are related to Duchaine’s conduct as a neighbour, as Duchaine makes no excessive noise or mess and doesn’t entertain many visitors.
But now that the township knows Duchaine’s there, Elsey said she believes the township is concerned about liability, and admits she doesn’t think the trailer is ideal accommodation.
“In all honesty, I would really prefer that she had a proper apartment,” Elsey said.
Elsey said the township told her “there would be fines” if she didn’t make Duchaine move, but she was given no deadline and no indication what the fine might cost her.
Elsey said she had hoped Duchaine would find another place to live over the summer, but all her leads seem to have gone cold.
In the meantime, the weather is also getting cold.
“I’d rather she was here than in a tent city,” said Elsey, noting the high cost of rent limits Duchaine’s options.
“It’s impossible to even find a room now at $500 a month,” Elsey said.
“I would not be in this situation if I had any other choice,” said Duchaine.
While she is working, “I’m still just barely getting by,” she said.
She added she would be willing to work in exchange for accommodation, but knows of no such options available.
“I’m not one to sit around and do nothing,” she said. “I’m willing to work for my spot.”
Duchaine reached out to the Legal Clinic of Guelph and Wellington County to see if it could assist, but was told the clinic could do little to help because she does not pay rent.
Clinic executive director and lawyer Stephanie Clendenning declined to comment on Duchaine’s specific rights, but did offer some general comments.
“The legal clinic sees firsthand the harsh reality of the housing crisis day in and day out through our work in eviction prevention and as Tenant Duty Counsel at the Landlord and Tenant Board,” Clendenning stated in an email to the Advertiser.
“The stories you hear about the housing affordability challenges people are facing are not an exaggeration.
“Homelessness rates and evictions have never been higher.
“Given this current housing climate and with the cold quickly approaching, I hope that the county can assist and that a minor bylaw infraction, if there even is one in this case at all, can be put aside until real housing solutions can be achieved.
“Communities should be applauding the innovative solutions neighbours are coming up with to house their friends and family, not take steps to try and tear them down.”
