Secondary suite registration, development permit fees waived until 2026
It won’t cost Calgarians anything for a development permit or to register a secondary suit for another three years.
The City of Calgary extended the Secondary Suites Amnesty Program until December 31, 2026, something it says will allow owners to continue building safe and legal suites at a reduced cost and aligns with its housing strategy.
Under that program, charges for development permit and registration fees are waived.
Since it was first implemented in 2018, there have been more than 11,000 registered suites and there are 11,846 legally registered on the City’s website.
The program saves Calgarians who want to add a secondary suite to their home roughly $680.
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“We have seen a significant increase in the number of safe, legal suites registered with the City,” Brenda Desjardins, director of Development, Business and Building Services, said in a statement.
“Legal and registered suites provide safe and affordable housing choices for renters and owners.”
A secondary suite is a separate, self-contained living space with two or more rooms located within a home, typically in the basement. Under the City’s policy they must include:
- Bedrooms with proper egress windows
- A separate bathroom
- Separate cooking facilities
- An entrance that is accessible from outside without passing through the main dwelling unit (a shared stairwell is acceptable, but each unit must have a private entrance)
“We encourage everyone with a secondary suite to make it safe and legal,” Ulrik Seward, the City’s manager of Business and Building Safety Approvals said in a statement.
“We encourage everyone to pull the right permits and meet the necessary safety code requirements. This will ensure that a secondary suite is safe for others to live in.”
Owners of a suite built before March 2018 must make sure their existing suites meet the minimum life safety requirements.
This includes providing a bedroom window exit, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, a protected exit route from the basement to the exterior, drywall barriers between suites, and drywall barriers in the mechanical room.
Renters can confirm if their secondary suite is compliant by checking the Secondary Suites Registry, an online map that shows all registered suites in Calgary.