Secondary (Legal) Suites
A secondary (or legal) suite is a complete living unit with its own kitchen, sleeping area, and washroom facilities contained within another dwelling. The two dwelling units (the primary residence and the secondary suite) and any common spaces make up a single real estate entity that cannot be stratified or otherwise legally separated from the other.
Secondary suites are permitted in most single detached and some side-by-side attached houses across British Columbia and come with many benefits such as providing accommodation for aging parents, adult children or other family members, helping to pay a mortgage or investing in existing property and contributing to more long-term rental housing in communities.
Local government zoning and planning requirements, as well as certain building codes, and building permit requirements would dictate if a secondary suite can be built on a property and what building codes would apply. In the City of Vancouver (municipality), the Vancouver Building By-laws (VBBL) will apply. Elsewhere in BC, the British Columbia Building Codes (BCBC) is applicable.
There are very rigid building code and building permit requirements for converting an existing space into a secondary (or legal) suite. The newer the single-family dwelling containing the space for conversion, the easier it may be to do so. The older the single-family dwelling, the greater the number of requirements. There are also different types of secondary suites as shown in the graphic below.
Types of Secondary Suites
One of the more common conversions is from an existing single-family accommodation basement suite into a secondary (legal) suite. Within the municipality of the City of Vancouver, the basic guidelines for creating a secondary occupancy (legal basement) within a house includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Permits
- > A development and building permit, together with applicable trades permit is required.
- Number of Secondary Suites
- > Only one secondary suite is permitted per primary dwelling unit.
- Floor Area
- > The proposed secondary suite (legal basement) must have a minimum floor area of 400 sq.ft., but it cannot be bigger than the main dwelling floor area.
- Ceiling Height
- > A minimum ceiling height of 6’-6” must be maintained or achieved across all exit routes and, in 80% of the floor area of the suite.
- Doors
- > Have interconnecting solid core doors that are unglazed or with wired glass between the main part of the house and suite.
- > Have self-closing devices fitted to all interconnecting solid core doors.
- > Have no exit doors (which lead to the outside or to common exit corridor) that are obstructed or locked from the outside.
- Windows
- > Provide an unobstructed opening of not less than 3.77sq.ft in area.
- > Have no bars on the windows.
- Level Below Grade
- > The finish floor level of the suite must not be more than 6’ below the adjacent outside natural ground level.
- Emergency Responders Access Path
- > There must be a 3’ wide, hard surface, access path from the main street to the entrance of the suite.
- Fire & Safety Systems
- > A minimum of one hard-wired smoke and carbon monoxide detection alarm per bedroom (additional alarms must be installed throughout the primary dwelling unit and must be able to communicate with alarms in the suite).
- > Alarms must be installed with a permanent connection to an electrical circuit, and must have a battery back-up and silencing feature.
- > Have lath and plaster in good condition, or a minimum of 13mm (1/2 in.) gypsum wallboard on walls and/or ceilings between the main part of the house and the suite.
- Electrical
- > Have a main electrical service sized to accommodate all electrical loads.
- > A minimum of two kitchen counter duplex receptacles (electrical outlets) supplied by two appliance circuits.
- > kitchen counter duplex receptacles either individually wired on separate branch circuits or collectively wired on a multi-wire branch circuit.
- > A minimum of two duplex receptacles located on different walls in each bedroom.
- > A minimum of three duplex receptacles located on different walls in the living room area.
- > Receptacles (electrical outlets) installed within 1.5m of sinks, bathtubs, or shower stalls must be of the Class A ground fault circuit interrupter type.
- > Electrical Permit
- Plumbing
- > Have plumbing and gas fixtures that have been properly installed, with approved traps and vents, which meet current Safety Standards Act and Natural Gas and Propane Installation Code.
- > Have furnace and hot water tank vents with proper clearance from combustible materials, (which can range up to 152mm (6”) depending on the manufacturer’s specifications).
- > Have seismic straps fitted to any hot water tank.
- > Plumbing & Gas Permit
- Parking
- > Have onsite parking spaces for the entire property (main house and secondary occupancy)
These requirements are specific to the Vancouver Building By-Laws (VBBL) which regulates the municipality of the City of Vancouver. Other municipalities (Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, etc.) comply with the B.C. Building Code which has similar but less restrictive requirements compared to the VBBL.
The graphic below shows a pictorial summery of the different code requirements for secondary suites (and legal basements).
Summary of the different code requirements for secondary suites.
