Secondary suite owners are clueless as to what constitutes a safe living environment, a city pilot study has found.
For a year, the city’s building permit department and fire department studied 50 illegal secondary suites to find out how safe the units were.
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Although it’s tough to accept when Edmonton beats Calgary on the ice or the football field, a municipal report says the provincial capital has some lessons to teach our city about creating affordable housing through secondary suites.
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The controversial topic of garage suites will be on Sylvan Lake council’s agenda again in the near future after a second attempt to have them banned was deferred.
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The Town of Sylvan Lake is taking another look at garage suites after a number of residents complained about the second-storey additions.
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We don’t want any more “low grade housing” in our neighbourhood, several Sylvan Lake residents told councillors at their Mar. 25 meeting.
Three residents in the Regal Court and Ramsay Lane area of Sylvan Lake complained about garage suites approved in their high end neighbourhood.
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A cream-coloured wooden fence and burly evergreens surround the white duplex on the corner. On one side of the house, building blocks of a backyard garden face the quiet street, waiting for spring.
But the other half of the duplex tells a different story, one that often remains untold. It offers a glimpse into the lives of some Lethbridge residents who, desperate for a place to call home, settle for sub-standard shelter with no legal address.
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On Christmas Eve, my thoughts turned to city hall and the legalization of secondary suites. Strange thing to consider on Christmas Eve, you’re probably thinking. Not really. Because on that night, I was — for the third time — part of The Magic of Christmas program, one of Santa’s volunteer elves who helps bring the joy of the season to people in need.
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Installing a basement suite can be lucrative, if it’s done according to city regulations, because St. Albert’s rental market is very tight.
Last October the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s fall Rental Survey showed that St. Albert had an overall vacancy rate of 0.9 per cent.
“That means that for every 100 apartments in St. Albert, less than one of those units – just 0.9 per cent – was available for rent. That translates into a high demand for rental accommodation,” said David Lan, Senior Housing Analyst for CMHC in Edmonton.
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EDMONTON- SilverBirch Hotels and Resorts is pouring $60 million into the Mayfield Inn and Suites to turn the local landmark into an international player.
The Vancouver-based company is redeveloping its 40-year-old Mayfield property in the west end into two facilities: Edmonton’s first DoubleTree by Hilton hotel and Canada’s first Home2 Suites by Hilton, an extended-stay inn, SilverBirch and Hilton Worldwide announced Tuesday.
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Landlords with secondary suites are being singled out by the city’s new safety program to bring suites up to code.
Letters are being sent to 50 homes selected throughout the city to be inspected for relevant permits, land-use designation, and if they are up to provincial fire and building code standards.
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