Is Your Secondary Suite Safe?
Submitted by Melanie Swailes on behalf of the BCA Development and Transportation Committee
Does each bedroom have a window exit? Are there wired-in (not battery-operated) interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms? Is there a protected exit route from the basement to outside? Are there drywall barriers between suites and drywall barriers in the mechanical room to meet the safety code requirements?
How important are these elements? Very! This year has already seen several tragic basement fires. On January 4, 2023, a man and four cats were killed following a fatal house fire in Dalhousie. Fire crews were called for reports of smoke coming from a basement suite and found the deceased man. On February 17, 2023, the Calgary Fire Department responded to 911 calls for a house fire in Penbrooke Meadows. Crews were met with high heat and flames on entry and proceeded to the basement where they found a 71-year-old male occupant that had suffered fatal injuries from the fire. (Source: CBC and CTV News)
Many of the current secondary suite regulations can be traced back to a horrible fire in January 2009 in the community of Parkdale, in which three people died in a basement fire. The owners of the house were subsequently charged with numerous offences, including not having windows that meet building code, not having security bars that could be easily opened, and not having a hard-wired smoke detector. (Source: CTV news)
In March 2018, City Council approved amendments to the Land Use Bylaw, making it possible for property owners to develop a secondary suite without needing approval from City Council on each individual suite. At the time, during the Council debate, many speakers mentioned the Parkdale fire, and safety was frequently cited as vital for all secondary suites. Legalizing suites was seen as a means of ensuring safety because suites would require a Development Permit, a Building Permit, and an inspection.
Once all of those steps had been completed, a suite would be added to the mandatory Registry. The Registry is a Bylaw requirement, not an option. If you wish to check out a Secondary Suite, enter the property address at www.secondarysuites.calgary.ca. If the suite is on the Registry, it has been inspected and approved. If it is not on the Registry, the question is why not?
In Brentwood, since 2018, Development Permits for 124 Secondary Suites have been approved. Currently, there are only 83 suites on the Secondary Suite Registry. What accounts for the difference?
Some could be due to a time lag between the time a Development Permit (DP) is approved and work is done to comply with the Building Permit. Some could be because an applicant decided not to proceed with a secondary suite. Some could be because some of the work could not be completed yet (for example, installing a larger window or a window well in the winter). However, many of the applications appear to be in limbo for a year or longer. This means that the applicants have completed the Development Permit stage but have not completed all the steps towards legalizing the suite.
Why does it matter? Because the DP only considers some aspects such as the parking or windows, but other details such as smoke detectors or wiring are only addressed at the Building Permit (BP) stage. Without proceeding to the BP and ultimately, the Registry stage, there is no assurance that a suite has been inspected or that it complies with Building Codes: there is no way of assessing safety.
Why wouldn’t an applicant complete all the stages? Some applicants cite the cost of complying with all the regulations, for example, the requirement for wired-in smoke and CO2 detectors. Battery-operated detectors are cheap and easy to install, but they require frequent checking to ensure that batteries are still working. Not all landlords will routinely replace or check batteries, so a hard-wired system is required. Is it expensive? Yes, more expensive than battery-operated detectors, but wired-in systems are more reliable and safer.
Even if costs to bring an illegal suite up to code are deemed high, there are many reasons to legalize the suite regardless:
1. Safety. Nobody wants to deal with a fire, let alone an injury or death.
2. The Alberta Building Code has standards that are there for a reason. They are consistent and a means of knowing that construction was done in a safe and legal manner.
3. When you develop a secondary suite, you are building an investment. There will be costs to that investment, no different than any other business. Trying to save money by not complying should not come at risk to a tenant. In Calgary, a homeowner has the right to apply to build a secondary suite, but this right also carries the responsibility to ensure it is done properly.
4. Insurance and liability. Homeowners with a non-approved suite should check if their mortgage lender or insurance company will cover their loss in case of significant damages in an illegal suite. There’s a common misconception that an existing policy will cover a suite but if a homeowner fails to let the insurer know about the suite, they open themselves up to significant risk and the possibility that coverage may be denied or that the existing insurance policy will be voided.
5. The City of Calgary is waiving the cost of the DP and Registry (about $700) until the end of 2023. You will still need to pay for a BP and any renovation costs, but the DP cost is waived completely.
Let’s make every suite in Brentwood a safe one. As per the City of Calgary, “A legal suite is a safe suite.”
Still on the topic of suites, a frequent source of complaints is with regards to exterior property maintenance, such as snow removal in winter and lawn mowing in the summer. If you are a landlord, there are two options available to you: hire a service company for routine yard maintenance or have tenants shovel or mow as needed. If you expect your tenants to do the maintenance, please ensure that they have the proper tools. If you are renting to students, for example, it is unrealistic to expect that they will have their own lawnmower or yard tools. Please help your tenants and your neighbours by providing the resources as needed.
If you are interested in community planning and redevelopment issues, we welcome new members to join us. We meet at 7:00 pm on the first Monday of every month in the Sportsplex Boardroom. Contact the BCA for more information at [email protected] or at 403-284-3477.
