Built-in secondary suites in single-family homes might be fairly common, but the trend to include them in new Richmond townhouses is growing.
More townhouse developments in Richmond have a built-in rental unit, approved by city council in the rezoning phase, with a separate entry, a bathroom and a kitchen, that the owner can rent out to help pay the mortgage. This also adds density to the development.
“It is becoming relatively common practice for new townhouse developments to include some units with secondary suites,” said Clay Adams, City of Richmond spokesperson.
Kadium Properties is the latest developer to announce the inclusion of a legal rental suite - approved by city council during the rezoning of the property - in four of its 19 pre-sale townhouse units at its Onward Living project in south Richmond.
“Those lock-up units are like a studio setup, ranging from 400 to 500 square feet on the ground floor, with a separate entrance,” said Jason Liang, a spokesperson for Kadium
Since pre-sales began, those with a rental units have been sought after, Liang added.
“Some type of buyers would like these setups because they want to self-live in it but at the same time rent out part of it to help with mortgage payments and have some extra income.”
The units, however, come at a premier price – a 1,593-square-foot, three-bedroom townhouse with a secondary unit at Onward Living is listed at about $1.6 million, while the benchmark price for townhouses in Richmond is $1.1 million.
But Liang said it could be “a bargain for some buyers” because buying a separate condo to rent out is even more costly.
Increased density to combat affordability challenges
Richmond city council has been encouraging developers to include rental units in townhouses to increase the housing density in the city in an effort to tackle affordability.
According to recent statistics from BC Non Profit Housing Association, Richmond is the third least affordable city in Metro Vancouver for renters, as 44 per cent of renters spend more than 30 per cent of their income on rent and 23 per cent spend more than half of their income on rent.
In May 2022, city council approved a mandatory market rental housing policy – for townhouse development with five or more units, “a community amenity contribution may be accepted or voluntary construction of market rental units…may be supported through a rezoning application.”
A few other townhouse developments, including Georgia in Steveston, have also included a built-in secondary unit for rental in some of its townhouses.
“Given affordability problems, I would expect that trend to continue,” said Thomas Davidoff, a real estate professor at the University of British Columbia.
Adams explained current Richmond townhouse owners can also add a rental unit to their home, according to a zoning change made by the city in 2017, as long as it complies with zoning and the BC Building Code, and is approved by their own strata bylaws.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie said in a recent interview with the Richmond News the city hopes by increasing the supply of housing, it will at some point start to meet demand and increase affordability, although that is not guaranteed.
“The premise is that the more units you have, you’ll have more affordability. Whether that proves to be true is hard to say. But the fact is, you can’t have more places to live in without building them,” said Brodie.
