Illicit secondary suites in Edmonton duplexes could become legal
Laura Osman | CBC News | Posted: June 21, 2016 8:03 PM | Last Updated: June 21, 2016
'By making them legal we can ensure they’re safe,' Coun. Bev Esslinger says
City councillors want to legalize potentially thousands of illegal secondary suites, which have been operating rogue in the city.
Duplex owners are not permitted to lease basement suites in Edmonton, though it's common in many other municipalities across Canada.
It's difficult to say how many duplexes contain basement suites in Edmonton since they are not issued permits.
Coun. Bev Esslinger said she became aware of the problem when she was contacted by people trying to make changes to their suites, only to discover the units were illegal and they would have to evict their tenants.
To make matters worse, the duplex owners were already paying taxes on the basement suites.
"They thought that everybody knew they had the suite because they had paid for it, but the assessment department hadn't talked to the permitting department," Esslinger said. "We're working on that."
The city is currently investigating about 150 illegal duplex suites. Councillors opted to look at bylaw amendments to legalize the units, rather than crack down on them.
"By making them legal we can ensure they're safe," Esslinger said.
Legalizing the suites could also help the city meet its density and affordability targets in the core, she said.
"I think it's really important to provide as many choices for the citizens as possible."
Allowing secondary suites in duplexes will likely be popular in new developments as well, said Derek Hiltz, with the Canadian Home Builders' Association.
"We find homeowners are using the suites option to qualify for their mortgage," he said.
City staff will prepare amendments to the bylaw and present them to councillors at the end of the year. The public will get a chance to weigh in before the changes become legal.