Secondary suites offer homeowners a number of benefits while providing another option for affordable housing.  The safety of secondary suites is a priority, and as a result, the City has established a Secondary Suites Program to allow easier alternatives for older homes to meet current health and safety requirements. The new program means that:

• Older homes constructed under building permits issued prior to July 2000 can qualify for a legalized secondary suite.
• Costs to bring existing suites up to standard are less, and alternatives are provided to meet British Columbia Building Code requirements.
• The alternative standards provide for safety and quality of life for the occupants of secondary suites.

Secondary Suites Utility Charge
While secondary suites offer benefits to homeowners, they also result in added costs to the City. To help offset these costs, homeowners with secondary suites pay a secondary suites utility charge. This contributes to costs related to increased utility usage and management of complaints, investigations and safety inspections.

Safety Upgrades to Legalize a Suite
There are a number of benefits to having a legal suite. Safety for both homeowners and tenants is the primary benefit. As well, homeowners who complete all required safety upgrades to legalize their suite pay 40% of the secondary suites utility charge.

If you're planning to build a secondary suite or upgrade a current suite, the City's Secondary Suites Readiness Guide will be of great help to you. The guide provides detailed information about the program, costs associated with building a suite, construction assessments, permits information related to suites, plan requirements, parking requirements, suite area and exits requirements, occupancy information and additional rules.

Decommissioning a Suite
If a suite is no longer in use, the homeowner has the option to decommission a suite by permanently removing cooking facilities, permanently removing bathroom fixtures, or by removing any internal doors and door frames that separate the suite from the rest of the house.  For more information, please see our Guide to Decommissioning a Secondary Suite.