Thursday, September 1, 2022

Are Bunkhouses now Bunk or Debunked? Farmers in Canada insist Bunkhouses are Farm Buildings (tax as farm): Gov't says NO!

 https://www.betterfarming.com/online-news/bunkhouse-delivers-taxing-surprise-3330

A follow up to my previous bunkhouse blog post.

https://elixirfield.blogspot.com/2022/08/logging-bunkhouses-as-seasonal.html

There are about 15,000 seasonal workers coming into Ontario annually. Schuyler estimates taxing existing bunkhouses at residential rates would add $50 to $60 per worker annually to farmers’ operation expenses. It will be an extra tax burden on farmers.
   
Gilroy says bunkhouses should be classified as farm because they’re used as farm buildings. They’re used for the purpose of growing food.

Federation president Bette Jean Crews agrees. Bunkhouses aren’t residences. “These are used for housing for, at the top, eight months out of the year for workers.”

McLean says it doesn’t make a difference that bunkhouses are only used to house workers for part of the year. Seasonal cottages are also classified residential, she points out.

 https://www.norfolkcounty.ca/download/business/aab-minutes/2019/DCS-19-21-Bunk-Houses-Staff-Council-Report-Final.pdf

 “BUNK HOUSE” shall mean a building or part of a building used for the temporary accommodation of seasonal farm workers provided such accommodation does not serve as the principal place of residence of an occupant and the bunk house is located on a farm. A mobile home or recreational vehicle may be used for the purposes of a bunk house. [5-Z-2018]

 The term bunk house is defined under the Ontario Building Code as “Camp for housing of workers”. The term is used interchangeably.
Camp for housing of workers means:

A camp in which buildings or other structures or premises are used to accommodate five or more employees
. All camps for housing of workers are required to have a plumbing system that is connected to a sanitary drainage system. Every sanitary drainage system shall be connected to a public sanitary sewer, a public combined sewer or a private sewage
disposal system

 Sewage system means:
a) a chemical toilet, an incinerating toilet, a recirculating toilet, a self-contained portable toilet and all forms of privy, including a portable privy, an earth pit privy, a pail privy, a privy vault and a composting toilet system,

 BUNK HOUSE” shall mean a building or part of a building used for the temporary accommodation of seasonal farm workers provided such accommodation does not serve as the principal place of residence of an occupant and the bunk house is located on a farm. A mobile home may be used for the purposes of a bunk house. [5-Z-2018

 https://www.norfolkcounty.ca/download/living/building/faq/BUNKHOUSE%20REQUIREMENTS.pdf

 

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