Secondary/Basement Suites Calgary

If you're thinking of building a new secondary or backyard suite or legalizing an existing suite, it could be a great way to improve your property's value, create some cash flow, help with your mortgage, especially nowadays with our high-interest rates. But it can be confusing to understand if your property is permitted to have a suite and what has to be done to make sure it gets approved.

When I'm out showing properties, I get asked the question all the time, "Can I put a suite in this basement?" And I can't quite give a straight answer because there's a lot to it. So that's why I decided to make this blog to help people out. 

And just a bit of a disclaimer, it is December 4th, 2023, and the city council is actively working on this topic. It is a bit of a hot topic in Calgary these days, and changes could happen as soon as January 1st. So depending on when you're watching this video, things might be slightly different. But what won't change is that you can't just do whatever you'd like, and you still have to follow the city rules. And this video is just to give you a rough idea, kind of a summary of what they're looking for. I don't work for the City of Calgary, and I'm not a basement developer, but I do get asked questions like this quite often, and I just kind of want to summarize it so it's not such a confusing and convoluted topic.

So why is this a difficult topic to understand, and I would say there's a lot of reasons for it. The city rules keep changing; the city rules are difficult to understand. You've got weird terms like illegal suites. Zoning is difficult to understand. You've got homeowners that don't want suites in their neighbourhood. You don't really want blanket rezoning in parts of the city; that's another topic up for debate at the moment. You've got tradesmen who do a good job but might do things under the table. You've got homeowners that don't want to pay the money to legalize their suites and so on. There's a lot of reasons why this is a tough topic, and it's always a debate in the city regarding secondary suites. 

Let's talk about the difference between a backyard suite and a secondary suite. So a backyard suite is detached from the main dwelling but can be attached to a secondary item like a garage, also called an in-law suite or a carriage suite or a laneway house. But in Calgary, it is defined as a backyard suite. It must contain a living area, bedroom, kitchen, sleeping, and a bathroom. These aren't too common in Calgary, but I have showed a few properties that do have backyard suites. I think going forward, you might see more of this. 

And a secondary suite is a self-contained dwelling located within the primary dwelling, most of the time in the basement but can also be attached to the main dwelling. This is like your typical basement suite. Must have a separate entrance separate from the main dwelling needs, sleeping, living, bath, kitchen facilities, bedroom with an egress window, and you have to choose one or the other. You can't have a secondary suite and a backyard suite at the same time.

What's the difference between adding a new suite or legalizing an existing suite. And this is where it gets very confusing. Before March of 2018, an existing suite was like your typical basement suite. It would have a kitchen, bathroom, living area, and a separate entrance. If any of those are missing, then it would be classified as new and would have to be legalized. And everything after March of 2018 would be considered new, and you'd have to follow all the current codes and bylaws and whatnot regarding ventilation, heating, etc. What's happening going forward on January 1st, I believe, is that all suites, regardless if they are existing or brand new, will have to follow all the new codes and be legalized.

I do think it's a good idea to legalize your basement. I understand it can be a bit painful, especially if you've had a suite for a long time and it's working just fine. It could be costly to legalize it, but the city is cracking down on this, and you don't want to be the subject of some enforcement action or, heaven forbid, you get into a lawsuit and someone's injured and you're in court for whatever reason. You want to create passive income, obviously, but you want to make sure it's done safe, and it might even increase your property's value as well. So I do think it's probably a good idea to make sure that you legalize your suite going forward.

Let's briefly touch on zoning, and this is one of the issues that I see quite commonly when I'm out showing properties. So here is one of my active listings in Mount Pleasant, and if you go down here to zoning, it is RC2. Now, if you type that in RC2 zoning Calgary, the City of Calgary land use bylaw page will pop up, and you can see here permitted uses, secondary suite. Now, a lot of the public, they just assume, okay, I can put a suite in there. I can do whatever I want. You can put a suite in there, providing that you follow all the city rules, the way it's designed and built. So that's the catch is that you can't just do whatever you want. You have to follow the rules. 

Next up, let's talk about a development permit versus a building permit. So according to the city, you would need a building permit if you are doing renovation work, beyond, like, the simple stuff like bathroom fixtures, kitchen cabinets, paint, flooring, and stuff like that. Any kind of major renovation would require a building permit, and they are fairly straightforward to get, maybe like a week, maybe like a day to one week to get a building permit. Shouldn't take too long. And if you are considering making a basement suite, you would definitely need to get a building permit at the minimum, and you would also need to get plumbing, electrical, HVAC, gas permits, stuff like that. 

Now, a development permit this focuses on land use and zoning regulations, ensuring the project complies with city planning and development policies. A bit more involved, but most residential renovation projects only require a building permit from the City of Calgary. Additions that don't meet the city land use bylaw rules would require a development permit issued by the city. And if you are thinking of adding a backyard suite, you would definitely need to have a development permit, and it must go through the review process. It does take longer to get a development permit than it does for a building permit, and it's also more expensive. I can't give you the exact cost because these are always a bit different, and the city might need more documentation from you. So, again, they are a bit more involved. 

And to touch on the timelines and cost the City of Calgary charges $205.92 for an existing secondary suite building permit or for a proposed secondary suite $403.52 It could take 10 to 12 weeks for a development permit and up to a week for a building permit.

Here are some frequently asked questions that I get quite often when I'm out showing properties. And this goes to show you that you just can't do whatever you want; you have to follow the city guidelines and rules. And so the first part here, let's talk about what inspectors are looking for during a suite inspection. And for the most part, they're looking for safety items. 

Let's start in the mechanical room. They're looking for smoke separation and all penetrations tightly sealed, interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. 

For heating and ventilation, common question here is do you need to have two furnaces? What they're looking for is a secondary heat source, not necessarily a furnace. It could be baseboard heating, maybe in-floor heating, a fireplace does not qualify for air exchange requirements. 

For a new suite, you would have to provide an HRV, which is a heat recovery ventilation system in the suite. This helps clean the air. 

For windows, this is a common question: how to design the correct window for the suite. So you need to have the proper measurements and distances. So what's required for a bedroom window? They must have at least one window that can be fully opened and used to escape during the emergency, such as a fire. No special tools or knowledge to operate that window in the event of an emergency. So no bars or padlocks on the window. The main requirements: they must have an unsired opening at least 3.8 ft in area and no dimension less than 15 in. Inward swinging windows must open at least 90° unassisted. Outward swinging windows must open a full 90°. When a window well is required, must have 760 mm clearance from window to edge of window well. 

For smoke and fire protection, not necessarily looking for fire protection but more for smoke protection. So you can use half-inch drywall tight fit connections, so no holes or gaps in the mechanical room. Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors in bedrooms, common spaces, mechanical rooms, they must be hardwired for power. 

And for a basement entry, this is a structural item, so you might need to get a development permit for this. Definitely, you need expert advice if you are, like, cutting into the wall and stuff like that. There are requirements, so don't put a side entry and a zero lot line. Stuff like that, there are code requirements. So, again, definitely seek expert advice if you are adding like a second entry. 

And last question, with a big lot, can you build a secondary suite and attach it to the house? You have to look at the lot coverage. If you meet the requirements, you could potentially do it. Again, you should definitely consult the city. 

And the last thing to mention here is that the city is actually quite helpful when you call them up and ask for the development department, and you have the subject property in mind. You can let them know all the details, and they're actually very helpful. So that's the first step if you are thinking of making a developing a suite or adding one is to consult the city right away. 

Lastly, inspectors are also looking for all of the trade permits as well. So electrical, plumbing, mechanical, you can't forget about those.

I think going forward, you're going to see a lot more secondary suites throughout the city. Our population is growing quite quickly, and the main takeaways from this video/blog are that you can't just do whatever you want. You got to follow the city rules and codes, building codes and bylaws. And if you have an illegal suite, it might be time to look at legalizing it.