Legal Issue... Semi-Detached with Secondary Suite in Edmonton

[RyV]

Hey All,

Long time reader but first time poster here. I am in a bit of a pickle and thought I would come to this forum for some advice. I am currently in the process of purchasing my first home, a semi-detached property with 3 bedrooms upstairs an unfinished basement and secondary entrance in Edmonton, Alberta. My plan is to renovate the basement into a secondary suite and rent it out while living upstairs with 1-2 roommates and having a couple downstairs. I plan to move out in 2 to 3 years in which time I would fully rent out the place expecting to get $1500 upstairs and $900 downstairs based on current rental prices in the area. With these numbers the place would be generating north of $400 / month in positive cash flow with 10% vacancy and 100/month in maintenance fees considered (also property taxes, utilities and home insurance are considered). Now this all sounds fine and dandy but when I investigated further I found out that currently the City of Edmonton only allows secondary suites in Single Detached Homes BUT the bylaw is currently in the process of being amended but will not see City Council for 2-5 years (was told by a Senior Technical Officer from the City of Edmonton). After finding this out I am starting to second-guess my whole plan as even after the bylaw is passed there is still no guarantee my property will be legally allowed to develop a secondary suite due to other restrictions (IE: # of available parking stalls, lot size etc...). Also, the property has only two very tight parking spots in the back with available parking in the front being scarce at best which is another concern.

Now my question to all of you is do any of you own a semi-detached home with an illegal secondary suite or know of someone that does and gets away with it? Is it worth the risk of investing $15,000ish into the basement to turn it into a secondary suite in hopes of not getting caught? Is the worst case scenario of getting caught really that bad seeing as I could probably rent the whole house as a 4 bedroom place for $2000/month? How big of an issue is the parking out back?

Any advice would be helpful as I am almost in full blown panic mode right now :S

Cheers.

[Berubeland]

Move on and find the right place. Renting out an illegal suite puts you at risk for bad tenants or neighbours reporting you to the city and you having to remove the suite, being fined or worse.

Being a landlord is a business. Building your business is hard work and money. Why risk it in a situation that you already know is flawed? Build your business on concrete not quicksand. Be patient there are tons of people selling their properties, you will find the right one.

And yes I know plenty of people who do rent out illegal suites and don't get caught but if you are at the buying stage why settle?

[Just a Guy]

Actually, Edmonton has been legitimizing secondary suites for the past few years. They have been making it easy to convert them to legal suites, especially if you support low income housing and live in the place.

There are even grants available http://www.edmonton.ca/for_residents...te-grants.aspx

You may want to call the city before you walk away from the deal. It would only cost you a phone call to be properly informed.

[Sampson]

The problem is not if the City catches you under normal circumstances.

What if there is an accident resulting in death? No one (not your insurance) will protect you against the liability. If you think the risk is worth taking to earn a few hundred a month...

[RyV]

I actually called the City of Edmonton today and was told that as of right now a secondary suite in a semi-detached home is illegal. The bylaw is in the process of being amended but of course nothing can be guaranteed. Also, in regards to the grants, they hit the contribution limit back in March 2012 or 2011 sometime I believe so unfortunately they are no longer distributing these

[Just a Guy]

This may also help...

http://www.edmonton.ca/for_residents...ry-suites.aspx

[RyV]

So I called the City of Edmonton and spoke to a Senior Technical Adviser earlier today and was told that secondary suites constructed in semi-detached homes are illegal but the bylaw is currently under review. Of course she could not guarantee what the outcome of this would be but I would definitely be running a risk. Also, the grant program reached its contribution limit in March 2012 or 2011 sometime so unfortunately there is no more assistance to go around. I guess the question I posed was more of 'is it worth it' and not 'what is legal' but I think after the comment about building your business on concrete and not quicksand really hit home with me. If I did purchase it, it would definitely be a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment and given my luck it would be at the most inopportune time. Thank you all for the feedback- It has definitely helped me come to my conclusion.