Misconceptions about Oak Bay suites

Re: “In Oak Bay, councillor wants to bring secondary suites out of the shadows,” Feb. 28.

One glaring misconception is that secondary suites are not legal in Oak Bay. Yet they have been legal since the 1940s, when they were allowed in order to house the Pacific war effort.

The stipulation is that they must be “boarding suites” not “family suites” — i.e. no full kitchen. All councils have left this rule because it restricts property owners from turning a single-family house into the equivalent of a duplex (or triplex).

Another misconception is that a suite helps first-time buyers qualify for a mortgage. This is not the case in Oak Bay, where a cheap lot is a million dollars, which puts housing beyond the limits of subsidized mortgages.

Another is that we need more suites because of students. The University of Victoria has been granted the funding to build thousands of new student units on campus.

Another is that we need more suites as affordable housing. This defies logic.

Why would anyone build affordable housing on the most expensive lots in the region? Instead, they will be offered on the internet as vacation rentals.

Another is that as soon as “family suites” are legalized, existing owners will rush to build them. This hasn’t proved true in Victoria or Saanich because each suite might cost well over $50,000.

The most insidious is that suites are a good source of rental housing. Suites are just a Band-Aid to the true problem, which is that not enough rental apartment buildings are being built. Stephen Bowker Oak Bay