Hello everyone,

Can anyone help?

We are looking to buy a property in Calgary and are interested in renting out the basement (by adding, if necessary, a separate entrance and Kitchen etc.), however we have just discovered you need to know the zoning because if the property is in zone R-1 it is illegal to do this, but if it's in R-2 it isn't.

Has anyone done this or know anything about this? I am interested in knowing thing such as: if the property is in the "wrong" zone, whether you can apply to make renting out the flat "legal" etc, etc....

Thanks very much in advance.

Ken

The City of Calgary has lots of lovely Bylaws.....here is a link you may find useful regarding secondary suites (aka basement suites): http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server....ary+Suites.htm

And here is a useful summary brochure: http://www.calgary.ca/DocGallery/BU/...ary_suites.pdf

In short, you need to have the correct "zoning" from the Land Use Bylaw in order to be able to have a secondary suite in your home. The summary leaflet above tells you what land uses can have a secondary suite. I think it tends to be the older areas of housing, although there have been calls to expand secondary suites in other areas to help ease the shortage of rental accommodation but I don't know if there is a timescale to look at this at all.

I have also heard of people who have illegal basement suites. These are houses with basement suites which do not have the correct zoning - its often mentioned on house sale particulars. I would assume that people still rent out these illegal basement suites, although what I don't know is whether the City turns a blind eye to these or if they could do anything about it.

Hope this helps a bit.

Good luck
Flossie

Hi Flossie,

This is excellent, really useful.

Thank you so much for this, I will look into your links properly as soon as possible, but they look really helpful!!!

THANK YOU!

Ken

I'll add a little more to this.

If a neighbour complains about your illegal suite the city will come and inspect and tell you to shut it down.

My sons future FIL had purchased a home in area zoned R1 and was renovating it with the plan being to rent out the upstairs and a basement suite to different people. He had some very nice people lined up to rent both units, but one of the neighbours suspected he was building a suite in the basement and called the city.

The city sent out an inspector who told him he could not do that and he had to completely remove the second kitchen. They came back a week later to see if he had complied.

House then rented to one family.

In the Lower Mainland area of BC there are thousands of illegal suites. Unless someone complains the Cities turns a blind eye to it. There is such a shortage of affordable housing that to shut down the illegal suites would cause a major housing crisis.

Thank you Steve and Jonboy for your replies, it certainly seems a bit cut throat in Calgary then!!!! I think we will make sure we are in a legal zone.

Turns out that even if you are in a legal zone, you still need to have a fireproof wall or ceiling between the rented out part and your part of the house, plus you need separate heating system, water, elec etc too!!!!! wow.

See, that is the advantage of an illegal suite, you don't have to bother with all of that!

In real estate speak, illegal suites are often referred to as "mortgage helpers".

Same in Kamloops too. I was chatting with the chief planning officer a couple of weeks ago, and the attitude is that if nobody complains, nobody cares.

Very much that way in Calgary too, just unfortunate that the sons future FIL ran up against a busybody neighbour.

True, unless of course, you need to make a claim against your insurance policy. Somehow, I don't think the assessor will be as generous

That is a good point. It would be foolish to rent out part of your home without telling your insurance company. As you say, it gives them a perfect reason to deny a claim.

But, there are thousands of illegal suites. Does an insurance company insist that a property is correctly zoned before they accept a risk? If so, there must be thousands and thousands of homes in Canada that do not have coverage.