Secondary suites are legal in homes within the City of Victoria. Currently, secondary suites are defined by the City as “legal suites, located within a single family detached house [that] cannot be strata-titled”.

City planners recently recommended the City’s policy be amended to allow backyard suites. Under the proposed policy, 7,500 homeowners in Victoria will be eligible to build detached secondary suites on their property.

Size requirements for the suites will be the same as existing regulations for backyard structures to minimize impact on neighbouring properties. Senior city planner Kevin King recommended that the suites be a maximum of 400 square feet and 3.5 metres in height and be no larger than one quarter the size of the back yard.

Only households living in single detached houses, with no secondary suite, will be eligible to build a garden suite.

What’s next?

Once the policy has received approval from council, it will go to public consultation and an open house. Homeowners and residents will be able to engage with City staff to express their concerns and ask questions.

Secondary suites in Victoria

The City of Victoria launched a pilot project in 2005, legalizing secondary suites in a test area around Gonzales. In July, 2007, the City expanded their secondary suite policy to include all of the City of Victoria, incorporating feedback acquired during the two-year test phase. Since the pilot project launched in 2005, 121 secondary suites have been legally registered with the City of Victoria.

In 2008, the City launched an incentive program to encourage people to build secondary suites in their homes. Similar incentives may be considered for garden suites.  In 2009, 15 people applied for the renovation grant, and 44 people received permits to build suites.

The recommendation to allow garden suites comes in response to feedback acquired during public information sessions, neighbourhood planning meetings and a survey about secondary suites in Victoria.

Secondary suites are currently legal in the City of Victoria, Langford, Esquimalt, Central Saanich and within a test area in Saanich. Regulations vary among the different municipalities.

What does this mean for homeowners?

Broadening the eligibility criteria for legal secondary suites will increase the stock of safe housing in the Victoria and offer homeowners a variety of benefits. Secondary suites increase the value of a home and can help homebuyers to qualify for, and meet, the monthly obligations of a mortgage.

Homeowners will not be required to provide parking for their tenants which will have an impact on residential parking areas.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/victorianews/news/99129664.html

Resources

City of Victoria – Secondary Suite Grant Program
Canada Revenue Agency – Rental Income