You Rent Out Your Basement Apartment, But Is That 'Second Suite' Legal? By Jeffrey J. Caulfield

As a Real Estate professional I've often worked with many first-time buyers, and love the experience of assisting them with their first home purchase. But as home values, especially in Toronto, are high and growing yearly, they are finding it ever-increasingly difficult to afford a home, and need extra income from somewhere to carry the mortgage. One of the main questions I am often asked is, "Can you find me a home with a rentable basement apartment?"

What Is A Basement Apartment?

A self-contained basement apartment can be labelled by many names such as: second suite; granny flat; in-law apartment; accessory apartment; retrofitted unit; or just plain rental unit. Each term essentially denotes the same thing, and the goal is to charge rent to offset the cost of owning a home. Most units are usually in the basement but this need not always be the case. It could be the second floor of a house or that an addition has been added to the property and rented out. Regardless of circumstance, all must meet certain requirements in order to be considered legal.

Eligibility Criteria

There are many specific items that go into the making of your 'rental unit' legal. Some of these include:

1. The unit itself must be self-contained, and as such have its own kitchen and bathroom.

2. The second unit must have two methods of escape (egress). As homeowner you should make the unit as safe as humanly possible for your prospective tenant.

3. It must have self-closing doors. This is so if a fire starts in the basement it cannot travel upstairs (and vice-versa).

4. The additional unit should be equipped with its own working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Additionally, it would be prudent to provide the unit with a fire extinguisher, one rated for A,B,C fires.

5. The dwelling, including any additions you may have added since initial construction, must be a minimum of 5 years old.

6. The floor area of the rental unit must be smaller in square footage compared to the rest of the home.

7. Fire retardant drywall should be used throughout.

8. The unit itself must comply with the Fire Code, any existing zoning by-laws, as well as property standards. If you are building a brand new second suite addition to your home you must first obtain the proper building permits, and comply with the Ontario - as well as - local and municipal building codes.

9. The extra unit may require more parking spaces on site for additional tenants. In reality, not all inner city properties have any parking at all, and with the increase of renters with cars, it can make getting parking permits for the street difficult. In certain areas of the city there are some exceptions to this rule of having the owner provide enough spaces on the subject property for extra automobiles, so it is best to look into this well in advance.

To find out if your existing rental unit complies with the regulations, you should have it inspected by the Fire Marshall. This service is not free, but necessary to ascertain if your 'second suite' meets code requirements. If it does not you will be asked to upgrade or modify the unit at your expense.