Video: Foldable prefab carriage home unveiled in South Surrey

A South Surrey neighbourhood is now home to a prefabricated carriage home built with a foldable system. Local company Rohe Homes delivered the pre-engineered, 1,220-square-foot, two-bedroom home in one day at the end of September. Chief experience officer Salik Khan said the home was roofed and fully enclosed by Day Two. At the South Surrey site last week, Khan described a two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom unit with an office, made up of about seven or eight components. Its top and bottom sections collapse to one-third of the home’s size for shipping.

The main floor has a kitchen, main living area and bathroom. Upstairs are the bedrooms, bathrooms, and a laundry and utility room. Khan said electrical, plumbing and mechanical rough-ins, insulation and structural components are built into the home before shipping. The space can be transported by truck; it is undersize and underweight, and can be brought into different settings, including laneways.

A young family is building the carriage home behind their parents’ house and expects it to be finished by early December. Khan said the quick build also avoids months of site disruption, heavy truck traffic and neighbourhood noise. Rohe Homes was founded in 2018 by CEO Rohan Kulkarni and Khan. The company uses its patented Lotus Building System to unfold the home and set it on its foundation in one day, supporting multigenerational housing with minimal neighbourhood disruption.

Khan said the provincial government’s introduction of Bill 44 in 2023 created more opportunities for carriage homes like this. The bill required local governments to update their bylaws by June 30, 2024, to accommodate small-scale, multi-unit housing. He said it allows up to four, six or eight dwellings on a property, and that each home can be configured and customized. Rohe Homes is building similar homes across the Lower Mainland and the province, while also helping address Canada’s housing crisis. Khan said the company has delivered more than a dozen homes across B.C., and that building one in Surrey, where the company has its roots, feels special.

Using existing land without having to pay for it separately helps with affordability, Khan said. Design and permitting account for much of each project’s time before delivery, while finishing is among the final steps.

Khan said the company plans to offer a standard-spec build for about $500,000 going forward. The model would be a two-storey, 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom home, which could also be converted to three bedrooms depending on need.