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 homes across British Columbia and come with many benefits such as providing homes 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
Secondary Suites in Port Coquitlam – What Actually Applies
Port Coquitlam follows the BC Building Code rather than the Vancouver Building By-Laws, and its rules are noticeably more specific than its Tri-Cities neighbours.
Zoning is narrow and explicit. Secondary suites are only permitted in RS-1, RS-2, RS-3 and RS-4 zones. This is stricter than Coquitlam, where most single-family-zoned lots qualify. Confirming your zone is the first step, because if your property falls outside those four zones the answer is no regardless of how the house is built.
Your contractor needs a Port Coquitlam business licence. The City will not issue a Building Permit unless the builder holds a valid business licence with Port Coquitlam specifically. A licence from Coquitlam or Port Moody does not carry across. This trips up homeowners who hire based on a neighbouring city’s credentials, and it is worth confirming before you sign anything.
Siting problems go to the Board of Variance. If your project does not conform to the siting requirements in the Zoning Bylaw, the route forward is a Board of Variance application rather than a redesign. That is a distinct process with its own timeline, and knowing early whether you need it changes how a project is scheduled.
Floodplain properties need a covenant. If your site sits on a floodplain, a new or revised floodplain covenant may be required as part of the permit. Parts of Port Coquitlam near the Pitt and Coquitlam rivers are affected.
Permits cover more than you would expect. Beyond the suite itself, Port Coquitlam requires permits for decks, mezzanines, retaining walls, garages, carports, swimming pools, plumbing, sprinklers and furnaces. Bundling these correctly at application avoids stop-work delays partway through.
We work throughout Citadel Heights, Mary Hill, Birchland Manor, Riverwood and downtown Port Coquitlam.
For Comparison – The Stricter Vancouver Requirements
Homeowners often ask how Port Coquitlam compares to Vancouver. The City of Vancouver applies the VBBL, whose basic guidelines for creating a secondary occupancy include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Paperwork: a development permit, a building permit and trade permits for electrical, plumbing and gas, for a maximum of one suite per home.
- Minimums and maximums: no smaller than 400 sq. ft. and no larger than the main dwelling, with 6′-6″ of headroom across exit routes and 80% of the suite, and a floor no deeper than 6′ below grade.
- Protection between units: self-closing solid-core connecting doors and 1/2″ gypsum board or sound plaster, with hard-wired, interconnected smoke and CO alarms and battery back-up in every bedroom.
- Getting out: bar-free bedroom windows opening to at least 3.77 sq. ft., exit doors never locked or blocked from outside, and a 3′-wide hard path from the street to the suite entry.
- Building systems: an electrical service sized for both units, the prescribed outlets and GFCI protection near water, properly vented plumbing and gas, and a seismically strapped hot water tank.
- Parking: on-site parking covering the whole property.
As a general rule, Port Coquitlam follows the BC Building Code, which is less restrictive than the VBBL on several of these requirements. The bigger constraint here is usually zoning, since suites are only permitted in the RS-1 to RS-4 zones. Specifics will vary with each property, so we confirm the zone and code requirements for yours before design begins.
The graphic below shows a pictorial summary of the different code requirements for secondary suites (and legal basements).
Summary of the different code requirements for secondary suites.
