Some time ago I posted an article about the secondary suite situation in and around Victoria. An article in yesterday’s Victoria Times Colonist jogged my memory to do an update on this important subject.
Why is this important? Victoria home prices have eased a bit in the past nine or ten months, but this region remains among the costliest regions in Canada in terms of home prices. Broadening the eligibility criteria for legal secondary suites means more hope for prospective home buyers, particularly first time home buyers. Income from those ‘mortgage helper’ secondary suites can help them to qualify for – and meet the monthly payment obligations of – a mortgage. (NB: Be sure to consult your lender of choice for details on how it treats secondary suite income for mortgage qualification purposes).
The City of Victoria took a significant step forward in 2007 when it amended its zoning bylaw to allow secondary suites in significantly more homes than before. In a departure with the past, the age of the home was no longer relevant. Another striking departure was the elimination of the requirement for a separate parking space on the lot for the suite. Since then, single family homes on lots zoned R1-B, R1-G, and R21 are eligible for secondary suites provided certain other conditions are met.
The two most limiting conditions are:
- the existing home must have a minimum of 150 square meters (1,615 sq feet) of living space meeting minimum height requirements of 2.15 meters (interpreted as 7 feet). Adding space in which to create a suite is off-side. There are also minimum and maximum size requirements for the suite itself, but those requirements are ‘academic’ if the overall living space requirement is not met.
- there can have been no addition to the enclosed living space of the home within the preceding five years. In other words, if you add floor space to your home, you must wait five years before you can create a legal secondary suite.
Recent Developments at City Hall: The newspaper article I mentioned notes that since the zoning bylaw change in 2007, 51 secondary suites have been added to the inventory. To accelerate that growth rate city councilors have agreed to further ease the bylaw in the following ways:
- the restriction on building additions in the preceding five years would be dropped.
- minimum ceiling heights will be reduced to 2 meters floor to floor joist (about 6 feet 7 inches)
These changes would mean that existing homes of less than 150 square meters could meet that size requirement by way of renovations to add the needed space. And the icing on the cake is the intention to provide a grant program to fund up to 25 percent of the cost of renovations to create a secondary suite, to a maximum of $5,000.
This is all good! Of course, building permits are always required for this sort of work, along with building code compliance. The City of Victoria has a lot of useful relevant information posted here on its website. Check it out.
I hope Saanich and Oak Bay are paying attention.
Bye for now,
...Victoria's blogging real estate professional.
