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Legalizing Existing Secondary Suites in Lethbridge

If is often said that there are thousands of “illegal suites” in Lethbridge.  They have traditionally provided affordable housing for our college and university students, and for young people just entering the workforce. 

The City of Lethbridge recently passed a new bylaw providing a process to legalize existing suites, by bringing them up to current building and fire codes.   The benefits of an owner to go through this process would be: 

• Protect the revenue stream by avoiding the suite being closed down.
• Increased safety to the occupants.
• Reduced potential liability in the event of a fire. 

The new City bylaw deals with suites built before January 1, 2007, in a single detached dwelling in the R-L zone, which have one off-street parking space, and have a separate entrance. 

For such a suite, the property owner may request that a Fire Codes Officer do an inspection report detailing the upgrade or renovation requirements under the Alberta Fire Code which would be required to bring the suite up to standard.  After the property owner does these upgrades, a follow-up inspection will be completed.  If the report is satisfactory, the property owner will get a permit from the City advising that this suite is in compliance. 

One caveat is that a property owner should be aware that once this process of legalizing the suite has started, there is no turning back.  The process must be completed and the suite made compliant, or the owner must stop using it as a rental property.  A property owner should also be aware that this process could be started by a tenant complaint. 

Any prospective buyer of a property with an “illegal suite” should now realize that if the Tenant makes a complaint resulting in a visit by a Fire Safety Officer, the suite must be upgraded if required, or it cannot be rented out. 

Paul G. Pharo, Q.C. is a Lethbridge Lawyer.