Legal Suite living in Calgary – What’s the latest?
LATEST UPDATE: The secondary suite bylaw amendment report was heard by the Calgary Planning Commission on March 26, 2015. The Commission approved the recommendations of the report, which was to direct the amendments to Council for May 11 Public Hearing, and recommended approval of the proposed changes. The Public Hearing is scheduled with Council for May 11, 2015 at 9:30 a.m in Council Chambers, located in the Municipal Building at 800 Macleod Trail SE. The meeting will also be broadcast online at Calgary.ca as well as on Channel 89 for Shaw Digital TV customers with a digital terminal.
At REIN we are fortunate enough to have some great eyes and ear on the ground in all areas of the country. Veteran REIN Member and well-respected Calgary area realtor Brett Turner recently sent some great intel on the latest secondary suite bylaw amendments sitting before the Calgary Planning Commission. Thanks Brett!
Its no secret that Calgary has had quite the mess when it comes to illegal secondary suites.
It didnt matter if you wanted to have your mother in-law living in your existing basement suite or (depending on your mother in-law), farther away in an above-garage suite or garden suite. It simply wasnt allowed.
That is until December 2014 when Calgary city council directed Planning, Development, and Assessment to prepare Land Use Bylaws to the contrary. The amendment currently up for discussion means that 35,395 single family home owner in locations previously not zoned (R-1, R-C1, and R-C1L) can now apply for a LEGAL secondary suite. If youre one of these home owners, you also get to side step the time consuming process of obtaining a Land Use Designation.
Homeowners with existing illegal suites will also:
- Have an 18 month window to legalize
- Be exempt from applying for a development permit if the property was built prior to 2007
- Be allowed to legalize according to Alberta fire code not Alberta building codes (no more HVAC headaches!)
- Be given bragging rights as having a legal suite going forward (a plus for potential tenants!)
After the 18 month window expires, the city is likely to get a lot tougher on suites that arent compliant.
What if I have a suite but not the right zoning?
Also, until now, if you owned a property in the residential land use districts in Wards 7, 8, 9, or 11 you were out of luck when it came to having a legal suite. Theres good news on that front as well! There is a further amendment to the bylaw that would see these wards allow secondary suite development for all land use designations (even R1). Not sure what Ward you live in? Click here to see a map of Calgary wards.
Brett has promised to keep us posted on the latest developments to the existing suite bylaws. We will do the same for you.
Until then, feel free to leave your thoughts or questions below.
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