# Cost of Legalizing a basement suite in Edmonton



## SailorScrunt (Oct 9, 2017)

Hello,

First time poster. I am writing because I can not find an accurate answer anywhere on the internet so I figure I would make my own question. Here goes... 
We are in the market for a new home in Edmonton and are looking for one with a basement suite. I am seeing a lot that are "built to meet permit codes" but they haven't actually applied for the permits to make the basement a legal secondary suite. Now there is no way I'm taking someone's word for it that codes are met so what I'm wondering is, what is an approximate cost to completely legalize a basement suite? Now I'm not taking in to account repairs or construction. I want to know the cost if all went well and the previous owner did in fact meet all codes. What permits are needed and what are the costs of these individual permits?


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

I'd suggest you call the city and ask as it costs different amounts in every jurisdiction. I've even seen it cost different things in different neighbours.

The other thing I've found with permits is not all departments of a bureaucracy always talk to each other. One can tell you you have all the permits you need, only for another to say you still need different ones... in some places it's really easy to get the permits, other ones it's a nightmare.


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

The permits and inspections are not terribly expensive. Its the repairs and construction that is. The whole two separate furnaces and HVAC systems is usually a killer.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

You also need to consider parking bylaws. With two families you need to plan for 4 vehicles. They can't all use street parking (2 max). If their is no -or limited- existing parking on the property you will need to expand it. That might mean taking out the front lawn or reconfiguring the rear lane fence, etc. Depending whether you do it yourself or pay someone, even an aggregate base will be $1000 plus/minus.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

OnlyMyOpinion said:


> You also need to consider parking bylaws. With two families you need to plan for 4 vehicles. They can't all use street parking (2 max). If their is no -or limited- existing parking on the property you will need to expand it. That might mean taking out the front lawn or reconfiguring the rear lane fence, etc. Depending whether you do it yourself or pay someone, even an aggregate base will be $1000 plus/minus.


Which is really getting into the whole zoning issue (Which is separate from building code compliance). You are converting a single-family dwelling to a form of duplex, which may or may not be a permitted use in the current zone; and if permitted would have conditions such as the examples OnlyMyOpinion raises. Municipalities have become more receptive to "densification" in recent decades, but practices and technical requirements are highly variable. 

The only proof that a basement suite is "legal" is a recent permit. If the owner doesn't have that, you are out on a limb.


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

To comment on the permits, the city doubles the permit fee if you're applying after the work is done. And they may require you knock open walls so they can see wiring, etc to confirm its done properly.

On the parking issue, I believe changes were made recently that only 2 stalls are required for the property. There is no requirement that you make the stalls available to the tenants, but you do have to have them accessible on the property. On our garage suite, the rules at the time said three stalls (2 for primary house and 1 for suite). We have a triple garage, so that satisfies it even though the tenant has no access to the garage portion of it.


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