Unauthorized suite in new duplex (Van)
 

Looked at a new duplex today that has a 2 bedroom unauthorized suite today (Vancouver) and the real estate agent recommended that if I were to buy the unit that I not rent it out in the first year in case the city comes to inspect it. Not renting it out the suite in the first year makes the purchase a no go for me (we could afford it financially but I wouldn't want to stretch like that).

The suite is already roughed in as a separate unit, the only thing missing is a door to the rest of the house and a vent for the kitchen fan. It was clearly built to be rented out.

So...

Is his concern a fairly serious one or a cautious one? Is it realistic for me to have the city approve it since it wasn't part of the plan in the first place and it's new?

thanks,

you can try and have the city approve it, but im not sure on what the fees are. however, if its roughed in and the real estate agent does recommend not to rent it out, i say the city have probably already denied the request.

a family member made a house w/ suite in east van, and about a year later the city came by to inspect it. We just put the tenants up in a hotel for the weekend and removed the cabinets -- got it approved and re-installed all the cabinets. Maybe a day's worth of work max

Yea I'm not sure on the costs and process after the fact but here's the process had it been done from the start.

Build and legalize your basement or secondary suite | City of Vancouver

Thanks, it sounds like the process is a bit of theatre. It seems from this and others that the city is caught between a rock and a hard place - they need more housing so don't want to force people out of their homes but they also want to get compliance and extra revenue - so they are just doing cursory checks to see if a kitchen is in place.

The zoning for the unit I'm looking at allows for a suite and I think it wouldn't be too hard to get it approved so I'll look into it as the "theatre" will be harder to do with this unit.

The fact that it is a new duplex, and yet the suite is not authorized, suggests that there is something that the builder did not include to make it authorized.

So assuming you buy the unit, you can either:

1) pay for the work & fees to get it authorized, and never have to worry about the city, or

2) rent it out eventually, but run the risk of having the city knock on your door one day

There are pros and cons to having an authorized suite - the question is how much hassle are you willing to put up with? You can do all the work now, or do nothing now, and maybe have to do work later? Personally, I hate being hassled so I made sure my suite was authorized.

Wait - I think you mean the house inspection got approved, but not the suite. Important distinction there!

To have an authorized suite could mean big bucks on redoing your electrical depending on how cheap your builder was. (They will usually try to save money wherever they can) That stuff has to be all separated from the main panel onto a sub if it isn't already...

When you say big bucks do you mean a few grand or much more? I plan on having it inspected by the city as a condition of purchase but is there a way for me to tell when I see the house again? My father in law was an electrician by trade in the past if that helps.

I'd take your agent's words seriously. I actually rent an unauthorized suite (financial stability is an unknown concept to me) and the City has been sending us inspection notices recently. The landlord's been renting this place out for a few years already, so I'd take your agent's warnings further than just the first year. I'm already looking for a new place in case my landlord gets into trouble with the City.

Redoing the electrical system is going to be a major hassle, regardless of the price. I wouldn't be optimistic about it.

+1 and you have to make windows in every room (not 100% sure) among a few other things. Also your property tax will go up, hydro etc etc will also go up as well. If in the future you decide not to rent it out anymore and wants to pay a lower property tax you have to inform the city and they will come and cut some plumbing to the rental unit.

Also for cable/Interent. If they see you have a seperate kitchen/stove they will cut off the service to the basement unit and they tenate is require to setup their own acct or you have to pay for 2 accounts. This happen to my parent's house. Basically, the tenate was getting Internet/cable with us. They decided to get their own Internet and when Shaw came they cut off their cable service. So now if they want cable they have to pay for it.

There are lots of sticky points in an unauthorized suite.

The worst case I've seen and heard about, is the city coming by and denying the suite, and having the inspector there to supervisor the kitchen to be dis-assembled.

i've got an unauthorized suite that i'll be renting out soon....anyone have links for the actual requirements??

i'm not going to be going through the process of legalizing it but i'm curious on the official requirements

Not sure about all the requirements but a few things I can remember is there needs to be a fire resistance (15 min I believe) separating the suite from the main house, a separate electrical panel, windows and doors of certain size

ha serious they have to have their own breaker panel?? makes sense for convenience/maintenance issues i guess

i was aware of the fire door requirement

The Secondary Suite Guide lists some basic requirements.

Can't find a listing of the "official" requirements though... Because the city wants to come check out your place first I bet! :troll:

From Gumby's link above they either did a piss poor job of wording it or they are only requiring a smoke seal which if true is not only surprising but ridiculous IMO. I wouldn't put in a suite without a minimum of 1 hour separation in my house.

Unauthorized suite in new duplex (Van)
 

my parents house went through a secondary suite house inspection last year. they have an asshole neighbour that works for the city so they decided to go through the process of legalizing their rental suite to avoid future issues.

from what I remember:
- there needs to be a self closing fireproof door that separates the suite to the main house
- the suite has to be >400 sqft
- the main entrance door to the suite requires a peephole
- if it's in a basement, there needs to be a minimum height requirement of how much below the ground it is
- doesn't require own breaker panel as some people have said

I can't remember any other stuff right now but if there's any questions, I'm sure I can ask my folks