We have already talked about why owning a Secondary Suite is a great decision for many current and first-time homeowners. Regulations have recently changed, making developing Legal Suites easier than ever. There are many building codes that you will need to follow, but let’s start by looking at what we believe are the Top 3 Fundamental Requirements that you will want to make sure you can achieve before you get too far in the process.

1. How is Your Property Zoned?

Subdivisions within Calgary have different zoning bylaws that may or may not allow you to add a Secondary Suite to your property. Below is a quick list of what properties are permitted, and which ones have discretionary (meaning there is an approval process) approval.

• R-C1 Ls – Approved
• R-C1s – Approved
• R-C2 – Approved
• R-1s – Approved
• R-2 – Approved
• R-2M – Approved
• R-CG – Approved
• M-CG – Approved
• R-G – Approved
• RC-1 L – Discretionary
• R-C1 – Discretionary
• R-C1 N – Discretionary
• R-1 – Discretionary
• R-1 N – Discretionary

As you can see from above, a lot of the zoning bylaws permit you to add a legal Secondary Suite to your property, and those that do not have an approval process that you can apply for. To find out what zone your house is on, and for more details on zoning enter your address at the City of Calgary site.

2. Is There Space for a Separate Entrance to the Basement?

Whether it is a basement walkout entrance, or one starts in a shared common space that leads down the stairs to the suite,  your house needs to have a separate entrance that will allow the basement resident to get into their suite without having to walk through the upstairs suite.

This is probably one of the most challenging requirements to find in a house that you are looking to suite. My wife and I looked for quite a long time to find a house to meet this requirement when we were looking for our second home (and it was totally worth the wait!). If you can check this box off, then congratulations you are most likely sitting on a great investment property.

3. Where is the Mechanical Room Located?

When you look at your house, or a house you are potentially going to purchase look at where the mechanical room is currently located. If it is sitting right in the middle of the basement then you might run into some problems. Of course, anything can be moved, but it might add some unwanted ductwork that could cause a lower than desired ceiling height.

You will also want to make sure that you will have enough space in the mechanical room for a secondary heat source (I have found a second furnace works great, and is cost efficient, but there are many options to look at), a large water tank, an electrical panel, and potentially even a clothes washer and dryer. Although it is no longer required (and thank goodness!), you would ideally want both the upstairs and downstairs tenants to have access to the mechanical room. If it doesn’t work out that way then that is fine, it just means there are some other factors you will need to consider (which we will touch on in a future post).

In Conclusion

We will continue to explore more of the regulations that the City of Calgary have put in place to make a safe and legal suite. Many of them will be easy to implement in almost any property, but the three that we have listed above are the ones that you will want to give the most consideration to as you look at finding the perfect house to suite. Good luck!

Please leave a comment below on any of the topics that we covered today!