The District of 100 Mile House is putting together a draft secondary suite policy to recognize existing illegal suites.
The specifics of the policy have yet to be written as the district simply discussed the issue at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Oct. 30. Mayor Maureen Pinkney said by email that the discussion looked to answer the question “where do we go from here?”
“We feel that recognizing that there are suites in our community that have not been built with building permits and, therefore, are technically illegal suites, is the first step,” she said.
Three options for managing illegal suites were presented.
Option one recommended taking a hard stance on all illegal suites and enforcing the current BC building code in full.
Option two suggested registering a notice on title for properties with illegal suites to advise future owners that the suite was not built with proper permits.
The third option and the one agreed upon by the committee recommended that existing illegal suites remain that way but become recognized by the district upon discovery. Any new illegal suites built following the policy being endorsed, however, will be enforced to the fullest extent of the law.
“The lack of housing has been a well-known problem in the municipality for several years,” said Pinkney, adding that some of these suites have been around before there was the current building inspection and before 100 Mile’s boundary expanded.
“We need these homes for our residents, we certainly do not want to take action against them unless there are complaints of noise, parking issues, etc.”
The message the district hopes to send to residents is that more affordable housing is needed and with secondary suites now allowed through zoning, people will try to make suites conform to building codes, ultimately making them safer to live in.
The lack of knowledge about secondary suites can be an issue during an emergency.
“When we had the fire years and we were knocking on doors to advise people to evacuate, what if we did not know there were more people in the home than we thought?” the mayor asked.
She is hopeful that once people realize it is not that hard to become legal, some owners may wish to get recognized as a legal suite.
To this end, a public information session is being held in March 2024. Residents will be invited to meet with staff and council and ask questions on secondary suite concerns. Invitations to attend will be sent to BCAA and insurance providers.
“Homeowners need to be very aware that although there may be downsides to legalizing their suites, due to a higher water bill or a bit more taxation, the fact that they may not have any valid insurance due to an illegal suite or that someone may actually be injured or left behind in an emergency situation is the bigger factor,” Pinkney said.
