Although secondary suites are common in single-family houses and townhouses in Richmond, they are not permitted in a duplex, which is a house that has two separated apartments for two different households.
At last night's council meeting, councillors passed a staff recommendation to legalise secondary suites in duplexes. It is now going to a public hearing.
“We used to have concerns about secondary suites because of the extra impact on services and issues we had in neighbourhoods,” said Ted Townsend, the city’s spokesman.
“Now we are taking another look at it given the demand for affordable housing. This is an opportunity to increase the stock of potential affordable housing units in the city.”
Only one secondary suite will be allowed within a duplex unit and it cannot exceed 40 per cent of the total floor area of the unit, according to the staff report.
There must also be an additional parking stall for the exclusive use of the secondary suite, to minimise the impact on parking availability in the neighbourhood.
The report said the legalization is expected to provide more affordable rental housing as well as offering duplex owners the option to get “mortgage helpers.”
Seniors who may not need a large duplex unit can also rent out a secondary suite, so they can stay in their own home for longer without moving out.
“This would facilitate aging in place and could also add a sense of security,” said the report.
The city started looking into the issue last September, when Richmond resident Karen Rabinovitch raised it at a council meeting.
The duplex owner had a tenant living in a secondary suite downstairs for 23 years. When the tenant passed away and Rabinovitch planned to rent it out again, she was “shockingly” told that the suite was illegal.
“I have had it for so many years. It’s a nice two-bedroom suite, my neighbours are fine with it, and it helps me pay my mortgage, I don’t see the problem with having it,” said Rabinovitch at the time.
Currently there are around 547 existing duplex buildings citywide.
