CHECKLIST: 8 things to check if you’re considering legalizing your secondary suite

30 May CHECKLIST: 8 things to check if you’re considering legalizing your secondary suite

Legalizing a secondary suite can be complicated and may not be the right step for you, even if you have an illegal suite in your home.

If you are considering converting your illegal secondary suite into a legal one, this checklist will help you prepare for the process and decide whether legalizing makes sense for your property.

1. Check the zoning requirements for your property. Some areas might not allow secondary suites at all – legal or illegal. Use a service like this zone by address tool from the City of Vancouver.
2. Call or email your City Building Department to find out what their specific requirements are for your zoning or classification. If the current house is larger than what is allowed in its designated zone, you might be required apply for a Development Permit and possibly a Board of Variance review. If those are denied, you will have to return the house to a size that is allowed within that zone. Please note that divulging your address might trigger an automatic inspection on your property.
3. Check your current suite against BC Building Code and Vancouver Building Bylaw (VBBL) standards, or the building bylaws for your city. Common things to check include: ceiling heights, Fire Separation, separate exits, off-street parking requirements, separate heating controls or systems, entrance locations, minimum and maximum sizes for units. A reputable designer or drafter can help with this step, as they are well-versed in building code requirements for structures in your area.
4. Make a list of deficiencies or changes that you suspect would be required to bring your illegal suite up to legal standards. For some, this might include major renovations, such as lifting the whole house to provide enough head space. For others, a minor kitchen renovation may be required. Still others could require redoing the electrical wiring in the whole house.
5. Contact a licenced general contractor or renovations company to review the entire home. Get a second opinion on what kinds of upgrades might be required, as well as a quote to complete the work. You may wish to have a few contractors view the property and provide quotes.
6. Ask your city’s Building Department for a copy of the plans they have on file for your property. If the current house does not match the plans on file, you will be required to submit a permit application to the City, in order to begin the process to bring the house into compliance.
7. If you are ready to proceed, call the city for an inspection. In order to legalize a suite in Vancouver, for example homeowners need to have an inspector who is a City Employee from the Secondary Suite program come out and assess your property. This is a free service. The inspector will identify any key issues you may have with your suite, and provide advice and plans for how to make your suite comply. Other Cities may or may not come out to assess the Secondary Suite before issuing permits. In most cases, inspectors are more lenient when it comes to deficiencies with homeowners who report their own illegal suites than with those are caught with suites that haven’t been legalized.
8. Based on the information provided by the inspector, you can proceed with legalizing your secondary suite.

Please also refer to this useful guide about converting your illegal suite into a legal secondary suite.