In 2014, Vancouver secondary units numbered over 26,000, or roughly a fifth of the total rental units in Vancouver, making secondary suites an important supply of rental space in the greater Vancouver market. While some are legal, more may be unauthorized or even illegal.
“Municipalities in Vancouver have been asked to supply more legal housing and to clamp down on illegal units,” says Phil Haig, award-winning Tri-Cities Realtor® and the leader of Team Phil Haig. “One of the ways municipalities achieve this is by overseeing so-called unauthorized suites and by responding to complaints related to illegal units.”
An illegal suite may be spotted by overcrowding or excessive noise. A community member may then complain about the overcrowded parking or noise and city inspectors will investigate. The city will immediately shut down any illegal suites found in the area.
“An obvious place for the municipality to look is the number of suites in a particular building,” says Haig. “If there are three suites in a normal basement, for example, that can lead to a lack of street parking or an overloaded electrical panel. Fires in illegal suites are much more likely, as a result.”
Unauthorized secondary suites are the next best choice. These are suites in houses built years ago that haven’t necessarily been kept up-to-date with ever-changing building codes.
“If a suite needs two inches more for ceiling height, it’s probably cost prohibitive for the owner to do so,” says Phil. “Raising the house and redoing the foundation is just too much work to bring the house up to the latest code. For this reason, a lot of unauthorized suites, while very close to being legal and deemed safe to live in, aren’t quite in line with the latest changes to the building code in their municipality.”
Vancouver area municipalities address these suites by simply having the homeowner pay extra for garbage, water, and sewer services. This effectively legitimizes the “unauthorized” suite while allowing the municipality to increase housing in the area.
Another reason for allowing unauthorized suites is to increase the ability for new families and homeowners to afford a home in the current market.
“With the way housing prices are now, a young family may only be able to buy a house if they can rent out the suite,” says Phil. “Vancouver is a popular and beautiful city. Many people want to live here. Secondary suites, either legal or unauthorized, can make that dream possible.”
For more information about secondary suites in Vancouver, contact Team Phil Haig by phone at604-941-2293, or email or visit their offices at 102-2748 Lougheed Highway. You can also visit their website or connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.
