Difference between revisions of "Tenancies in Secondary or Illegal Suites (19:XVII)"

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XVIII. INCOME ASSISTANCE, TAXATION, AND RENTAL HOUSING
Municipalities all over the Lower Mainland are attempting to regulate secondary suites. In most Lower Mainland municipalities, secondary suites are legal and regulated (though some landlords may be operating the secondary suite without approval). The bylaws and policy guidelines are municipality-specific, so clients should be directed to their municipal offices to find out what the specific enforcement policies are for their municipality. For a website with links to various municipalities’ polices on secondary suites, see www.homeswithsuites.ca/MunicipalSuitePolicies.ubr
=A. Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER)=


The SAFER program is a rental assistance program administered by BC Housing. It is intended to help senior citizens (i.e. people over 60). Applicants must be Canadian citizens, authorized to take up permanent residence in Canada, or Convention refugees. Applicants must have lived in B.C. for at least one year prior to applying. An applicant must also be paying over 30 percent of his or her income towards rent. Gross monthly income requirements for Metro Vancouver residents are: single, $2,550; couple, $2,750; shared, $1,776. For those living outside the Metro Vancouver, the rates are: single, $2,223; couple, $2,423; shared, $1,776.
The City of Surrey approved secondary suites in December of 2010. See www.surrey.ca/city-government/7617.aspx for information.  


The maximum monthly rent allowed in the SAFER program for a single person in Metro Vancouver is $765 per month (i.e. if you pay any amount higher than $765, SAFER will still assume that $765 is the amount paid), or $825 per month for a couple (rates are lower for those outside Metro Vancouver). The B.C. Housing web site has a calculator program to determine if an applicant will qualify.
Vancouver’s Zoning and Development By-law makes it possible to have a secondary suite in every detached single family home in the City of Vancouver. Council also approved the relaxation of various building code standards to facilitate the secondary suite process.


Residents of subsidised housing, cooperative housing, and manufactured homes (unless they are renting both the trailer home and the pad) do not qualify for the SAFER program.
The City of Vancouver will continue to respond to complaints received from neighbours or tenants regarding illegal suites. Where legitimate complaints are received, homeowners will have to apply to make the suite legal. In the case of houses with multiple suites, Council policy limits the house to a principal dwelling and one secondary suite. The application process is described online, and can be accessed at:
http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/creating-a-secondary-suite.aspx.


More information and application forms are available from B.C. Housing. Application forms are available in English and Chinese. Application forms may be obtained from the B.C. Housing web site at www.bchousing.org, or contact:
If a city inspector determines that a suite should be closed down, the landlord will be given 30 days’ notice to evict the tenant. That notice will begin to run from the day on which rent is next due. Regardless of the legality of the suite however, the RTA may still apply. A tenant may be entitled to more than the 30 days’ notice given by the municipality, and may therefore have a claim against the landlord if proper notice is not given.  


B.C. Housing
For more information on the issue of tenancy agreements relating to illegal or unapproved suites, see RTB Policy Guideline 20: Illegal Contracts.
Suite 101 - 4555 Kingsway
Burnaby, B.C. V5H 4V8
Toll-free: 1-800-257-7756
Lower Mainland: 604-433-2218
 
=B. BC Housing Corporation’s Family Rental Assistance Program (RAP)=
 
The Rental Assistance Program provides eligible low-income, working families with at least one dependent child with assistance to help pay their rent. The maximum gross annual household income level is $35,000. A child up to age 25 qualifies as dependant as long as the chid is attending school. A child of any age with mental or physical infirmity is accepted as a dependant.
 
A rental assistance calculator is available on the RAP website as well as other information and application forms see www.bchousing.org/Options/Rental_market/RAP, or contact B.C. Housing (above).




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Revision as of 23:42, 24 January 2017



Municipalities all over the Lower Mainland are attempting to regulate secondary suites. In most Lower Mainland municipalities, secondary suites are legal and regulated (though some landlords may be operating the secondary suite without approval). The bylaws and policy guidelines are municipality-specific, so clients should be directed to their municipal offices to find out what the specific enforcement policies are for their municipality. For a website with links to various municipalities’ polices on secondary suites, see www.homeswithsuites.ca/MunicipalSuitePolicies.ubr

The City of Surrey approved secondary suites in December of 2010. See www.surrey.ca/city-government/7617.aspx for information.

Vancouver’s Zoning and Development By-law makes it possible to have a secondary suite in every detached single family home in the City of Vancouver. Council also approved the relaxation of various building code standards to facilitate the secondary suite process.

The City of Vancouver will continue to respond to complaints received from neighbours or tenants regarding illegal suites. Where legitimate complaints are received, homeowners will have to apply to make the suite legal. In the case of houses with multiple suites, Council policy limits the house to a principal dwelling and one secondary suite. The application process is described online, and can be accessed at: http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/creating-a-secondary-suite.aspx.

If a city inspector determines that a suite should be closed down, the landlord will be given 30 days’ notice to evict the tenant. That notice will begin to run from the day on which rent is next due. Regardless of the legality of the suite however, the RTA may still apply. A tenant may be entitled to more than the 30 days’ notice given by the municipality, and may therefore have a claim against the landlord if proper notice is not given.

For more information on the issue of tenancy agreements relating to illegal or unapproved suites, see RTB Policy Guideline 20: Illegal Contracts.


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