Illegal Basement suites

[pheoxs]

So I'm aiming to buy my first home this summer and looking online via MLS just to get an idea of rough pricing / areas and such. I was surprised by the amount of listings openly listing an illegal suite. I know I've seen discussions about secondary suites and a bunch of news articles discussing pushing for more zoning changes but what are people's thoughts on buying a place with one?

Ideally I'd prefer a house with a second suite as it will eventually become strictly an investment property but I am concerned about the issues of having a improperly zoned place. Do people typically run into problems or does Calgary more so turn a blind eye towards them and only deals with them if there is complaints?

As far as converting a house properly, is it usually zoning restrictions that prevent it from being a legal suite or is there just a significant cost to doing it properly?

I'm new to Calgary so don't really have too much experience here but won't be sitting down with a realtor until spring so figured I'd lean on Beyond's knowledge.

I found this thread: http://forums.beyond.ca/st2/illegal-rental-suites/showthread.php?s=&threadid=373210
But it wasn't much help.

[ercchry]

right NOW... calgary has a shortage of rentals so its pretty much just based on complaints... i believe if you get "busted" you just have to rip out the stove?

to do a proper suite there is a bit to it, RC-2 zoning, 50ft of frontage, and you need a firewall and a separate hvac system and entrance. thats the major stuff.

[SkiBum5.0]

Weren't existing suites grandfathered into the bylaw as long as they met code at the time?

[CompletelyNumb]

Replace oven with counter cook top. Problem solved.

[Kloubek]

The city even states somewhere in their documentation that they don't seek out illegal secondary suites, and inspection is only on a complaint basis.

One of the things that the city says constitutes a "suite" is having a "kitchen". If one doesn't have a stove/220 power then that pretty much (as far as I know) negates it from being considered a kitchen. I believe most cooktops do require a 220(240?)v supply though, so it may or may not provide much help to install one of those instead. (Edit: SOME are available for use on regular 110v supply)

[CompletelyNumb]

Originally posted by Kloubek
I believe most cooktops do require a 220(240?)v supply though, so it may or may not provide much help to install one of those instead. (Edit: SOME are available for use on regular 110v supply)

I guess I should have specified that :poosie: You are correct.

[pheoxs]

Originally posted by ercchry
right NOW... calgary has a shortage of rentals so its pretty much just based on complaints... i believe if you get "busted" you just have to rip out the stove?

to do a proper suite there is a bit to it, RC-2 zoning, 50ft of frontage, and you need a firewall and a separate hvac system and entrance. thats the major stuff.

Thanks. Having a seperate furnance and electrical I could see being the biggest pain/expense besides the zoning.

Thanks for the info guys. Seems to be that it isn't as big of deal as I thought it would be initially. Still not sure I'd want to look at buying one though

[firebane]

They are "illegal suites" for many other reasons than HVAC and a stove. People need a way to egress out of a suite if say a fire happens and a lot of suites don't have proper windows or fire protection which can cause bodily harm to your tenants.

Personally when I"m looking to rent I stay as far away from these suites as possible. People are willing to do all sorts of sketchy shit to get a tenant.

[pheoxs]

Yeah, definitely would get a thorough inspection done and make sure it wasn't half assed. Obviously if its unsafe thats not somewhere I want to live / have tenants/roommates live.

[Sugarphreak]

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[CapnCrunch]

Originally posted by firebane
They are "illegal suites" for many other reasons than HVAC and a stove. People need a way to egress out of a suite if say a fire happens and a lot of suites don't have proper windows or fire protection which can cause bodily harm to your tenants.


I'm guessing the landlord is on the hook if someone is injured and killed in a fire?

[roopi]

Originally posted by CapnCrunch


I'm guessing the landlord is on the hook if someone is injured and killed in a fire?

I remember this a few years ago. I'm not sure if the suite was illegal but they did say the bars on the windows were. Can't seem to find the article with what penalty the landlord faced:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/3rd-victim-of-calgary-basement-suite-fire-dies-1.807761

Here is the article with the fines:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/landlords-fined-89k-for-fatal-basement-fire-1.806016

[mr2mike]

I remember that. Yes the bars were not removable from the inside. Windows were large enough.
They were fined in the $100K range but unsure if they had jail time.
I wouldn't rent out anything I wouldn't personally want to live in.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by CapnCrunch


I'm guessing the landlord is on the hook if someone is injured and killed in a fire?

i believe you can still get insurance on non-conforming suites

[CapnCrunch]

Originally posted by roopi


I remember this a few years ago. I'm not sure if the suite was illegal but they did say the bars on the windows were. Can't seem to find the article with what penalty the landlord faced:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/3rd-victim-of-calgary-basement-suite-fire-dies-1.807761

Here is the article with the fines:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/landlords-fined-89k-for-fatal-basement-fire-1.806016

Wow, 89K for 3 dead people.

[Sugarphreak]

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