Laws about Renting Basements?

[civicrider]

I am looking for some sort of guide lines about the laws that prohibit renters from living in a basement with only one exit, or a place that does not meet fire code. If someone can find some info that would be great, i looked around in the government sites and had no luck.

[barmanjay]

i would call the city

[Heff]

Secondary Suites (http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_104_0_0_35/http%3B/content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+Hall/Business+Units/Development+and+Building+Approvals+and+Land+Use+Planning+and+Policy/Home+Building+and+Renovations/I+Want+to+Build/Basement+Suite/Secondary+Suites.htm)

[Toma]

One exit is fine. It has to have windows in the bedrooms that you can get out of. There is a 'minimum size'... as I recall, no open dimension can be smaller then 15"

Though, it is news to me, the smoke detectors through the whole house have to be interconnected. First time I heard about that was after that fire.

Fire code and legality of the suite are two different things too. Some areas, houses simply are not allowed a suite. People have them anyway.

However, if the suite is old enough, the city would have to sue the owner to have him remove it, and given the age, a judge can simply rule to keep the status quo. In the case of really old suites and savvy owners, they are simply labeled 'non conforming'... but they can exist.

[civicrider]

lets say its a basement with only one exit and no windows, but the renter signs a contract agreeing the home owners are not responsible for his death caused by living in the room, and he is staying there at his own risk, is it still against the law? If it was reported someone had a person living in a room like this would the city fine the home owner?

[s_havinga]

Ya that is really illegal, I have a basment suite and like it was stated before any bedroom below grade requires a "legal" sized window in it aka windows big enough to escape through if there was a fire. That is a law regardless of if it is a suite or just a single family dwelling with bedrooms in the basement... I am pretty sure you also need a window in a common area but that could be wrong. it doesnt matter what the contract says, it is a city code and has nothing to do with whether or not the bedroom is being rented out or not.

On another note, I just found out last night my suite will be available April 1st if your interested

[civicrider]

well this is the deal i have a place rented and the renters want someone to live in the basement witch is basically just enough room for the washer and dryer, and you could fit a bed down there, the only exit and no windows, so i have said no but if they go ahead and live down there myself or someone reports it, do i pay the penalty or do my tenants?

[ExtraSlow]

Landlord is the one who pays the fine.

[Heff]

Originally posted by civicrider
well this is the deal i have a place rented and the renters want someone to live in the basement witch is basically just enough room for the washer and dryer, and you could fit a bed down there, the only exit and no windows, so i have said no but if they go ahead and live down there myself or someone reports it, do i pay the penalty or do my tenants?

As owner, you are liable.
As landlord, you are responsible to know (within reason) what is going on in your rental property.

How would you feel if someone was trapped down their of died of CO poisoning while the drier was running or something due to improper egress and ventilation issues?

[civicrider]

Originally posted by Heff


As owner, you are liable.
As landlord, you are responsible to know (within reason) what is going on in your rental property.

How would you feel if someone was trapped down their of died of CO poisoning while the drier was running or something due to improper egress and ventilation issues?

Yeah that's why i do not want them to be down there, so if they do it anyway and i find out is that good enough reason to evict them?

[Weapon_R]

Yes, that's reason enough to evict them.

[civicrider]

okay good then I guess i will just swing by every couple weeks and check out the basement.

[Toma]

Ahhh, see that's different. If it is not a self contained suite, and they are just renting the bedroom, they are ok, and you are ok.

When you rent a house to someone, under Alberta law, it becomes THEIR residence, and you need a court order to get it back.

So, as long as you are renting the house, they can do as they please under your contract... they can rent out rooms, closets, whatever.

You would not be liable. They would be liable since they were renting the room, not you. This would fall under a room mate situation, which is entirely between the legal resident and the room mate.

[01RedDX]

.

[civicrider]

okay but if i lived there and i had someone renting and they lived in the basement i am liable, but as long as the renters are renting the whole house i am not liable?

[01RedDX]

.

[civicrider]

yeah thats kinda what i figured, is there a link on the city site that i can print off to show that its against the law to have a renter stay in an area like this? And i mean the type of renter that shares the common area's with you but lives in the basement that definitely does not meet code.

[Euro838]

You also need to consider what type of the zoning the place is. If it is R1, I believe it is for single family dwelling.

Here's something a quick google turned up:



There is a constant demand for properties that contain a suite. Most municipalities regulate various areas by means of zoning. This permits grouping of commercial, industrial, retail and residential zones of differing types and densities. Sometimes an area is rezoned or the by-law affecting an existing area is changed, and as a result, a property might now be considered "legal non-conforming." In this situation, 'grandfather' protection often applies to the properties in an affected area. However, the City of Calgary has informed at least one property owner that his legal, non-conforming structure could no longer remain standing and had to be redeveloped to conform to the currently existing by-laws.

A property with a suite is often called an up/down duplex. A semi-detached dwelling is often called a half-duplex or a side-by-side. The City of Calgary Land Use By-law has the following definitions:
- "duplex" - a single building containing two dwelling units, one above the other, each having a separate entrance
- "dwelling unit" - two or more rooms used or designed to be used as a residence by one or more persons and containing kitchen, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities
- "semi-detached dwelling" - a single building designed and built to contain two side-by-side dwelling units, separated from each other by a party-wall extending from foundation to roof.

R-1 zoning permits single-detached dwelling; i.e. no duplexes, no suites, no semi-detacheds. R-2 zoning permits duplexes or semi-detached dwelling, but requires a minimum lot width of 15 metres and a minimum lot area.

What can happen to illegal properties? One example is of a person who bought a property from a for-sale-by-owner. The property contained a suite and the seller was renting out the suite at the time. The seller gave the assurance that since the property was zoned R-2, the suite was legal. What the seller neglected to say was that the lot width was only 12.2 metres. Some time after the buyers took possession, the tenant of the suite complained to the city. The city inspector determined that the suite was not legal, and the new homeowner was ordered to remove all cooking equipment, 220 wiring, counters, sinks and lower cabinets.