As a former resident of quite a few houses with secondary suites, some legal, others dubious. Mayor Nenshi makes a strong argument on leasing secondary suites in Calgary.
This seems to me to be a good idea. Rental prices in Calgary are already high, and landlords are a pretty shady bunch (how many times did you ask your landlord to fix your furnace/toilet/stove/sink/window etc before you fixed it yourself?)Legalizing secondary suite rentals with an application process protects us renters in a few ways based on the criteria set out:
- Suite must meet fire and safety code - I have definitely seen a lot of rental houses where fire codes were obviously not met, ensuring that suites are up to snuff will make us a lot safer. No more windows screwed shut, faulty/questionable wiring, or lack of smoke detectors!
- Off street parking - I don't agree as much with this sentiment because I would estimate that a sizable portion of the demographic renting secondary suites would not have cars anyways, and the rest that do would only have 1 vehicle ergo not cluttering the streets too much. The concession is made however, that if the suite is close to transit that this could be waved. I would include suites within 1 km of at least 3 different bus routes, which is probably a lot less stringent than Nenshi is planning, but I aim to try and encourage more transit use.
- The owner must live in the dwelling - While personally I don't think I would ever like to live with my landlord, this does address an issue that is going to be very prevalent in the coming years. Our populace is getting older, and this does offer a much cheaper alternative to assisted living. My grandparents, for example, could probably use a lot of help around the house and I've got cousins that could a)help them out with chores and such and b)enjoy a cheaper alternative to renting a full house to themselves.
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