Up to 16,000 illegal suites targeted by new city rules

Following the long-awaited council decision to allow secondary suites in most Calgary neighbourhoods, city officials are beginning the difficult task of encouraging thousands of owners to bring their illegal suites up to code.

There could be 16,000 or more illegal basement and backyard suites in Calgary, according to city estimates.

City inspectors will reach out to thousands of owners over the next two years in a bid to encourage them to convert their illegal suites and register them on a mandatory listing of inspected suites.

“This is critical,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Tuesday. “Now our job needs to be to help illegal suites come into compliance. There is now a two-year amnesty in order to make that work, as well as encouraging the creation of new, legal, safe suites that will help crowd out some of the worst offenders of the illegal suites.”

Councillors agreed Monday to streamline the city’s secondary suite application process by making them a discretionary use across the city after years of debate and discord. The change will allow homeowners to apply for a development permit at a city counter rather than apply for a land-use amendment through council.

The two-year amnesty period will give existing secondary suite owners until June 1, 2020, to upgrade their suites before they could be subject to fines or penalties for advertising non-compliant suites.

The city is also waiving fees associated with the development permits and mandatory suite registry for two years.

City officials said it’s hoped at least 800 legal suites will be added to the registry each year during that time.

“It’s costly, there’s a very high bar to entry for a legal suite. That’s why people don’t do it,” said Cliff De Jong with the city’s building services unit. “We’re trying to be realistic about just how many people (come forward) and what our rate of compliance would be.”

Converting illegal suites can cost $10,000 to $40,000.

But De Jong said the changes to the bylaw will make it easier for owners to obtain financing to make improvements to their property.

Previously, only owners living in areas zoned for secondary suites could access financing to renovate their units. But the bylaw change means secondary suites are now allowed across much of the city.

“A big challenge is money,” De Jong said. “That land-use issue has been eliminated. Owners will have more ability to get that lending.”

Monday’s victory for secondary suites was hard won, say advocates.

Nenshi fought for changes to the secondary suite process through two consecutive councils, characterizing it as a moral and ethical issue he said amounted to the city “turning a blind eye” to unsafe housing arrangements.

But it appears last fall’s civic election tipped the balance in favour of reform.

Councillors Sean Chu, Peter Demong, Jeromy Farkas, Joe Magliocca, Ward Sutherland and Ray Jones voted against the change.

Ward 4 Coun. Chu called council’s decision “disappointing ” and slammed the city’s amnesty plan for illegal suites.

At the pace the city is moving, it would take more than 60 years for all the illegal suites to be brought up to code, he said.