Late last year, a new bylaw in the City of Guelph opened the door for homeowners to construct accessory buildings on their property,

Jessica Imrie, who was unable to keep up with the rent on the work space she was leasing for her small photography business, decided to jump at the opportunity and have a separate building space right in her backyard.

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Imrie and her husband were the first people to have a permit issued for an additional residential unit in a detached building. The city of Guelph has issued five permits as of Tuesday.

“I knew that I just needed to create something that was going to be a little bit more stable for us if we were to go into lockdown again. So we decided that building something on our own property would probably be the safest bet because at the end of the day it would just add value to our property,” said Imrie.