With rents and housing prices soaring across Canada, splitting a mortgage with several family members or moving into a smaller home in your parents' backyard are two ways families can cut costs and support each other. Ten members of Surjit Singh's family share the same roof in Abbotsford, B.C. He says living together and sharing expenses helps make life easier, more enjoyable and more affordable. (Baneet Braich)is an "extraordinary" blessing.
He can spend time with her every day, whether it's for storytime or playing in the garden. The living arrangement was made possible because his daughter and son-in-law built a smaller home in his backyard in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood. "We made the land work for us … to leverage housing for our next generation of family," said Hein, 67. His daughter Mary Hein and son-in-law Arran McAteer moved into the 1,400 square-foot, rose-coloured wood-frame house two years ago. The Heins are among a growing number of Canadian families sharing their property with different generation