295 replies to this topic

[sebberry]

Well until this becomes the People's Republic of Canada, I don't think the city has much power when it comes to ordering people to upgrade their 80 year old electrical and plumbing systems.

Unfortunately there are a lot of botched upgrades done, and that's really the only time the city can intervene.

[MarkoJ]

Maybe people aren't upgrading because they realize if they get the city involved on a 80-90 year old home upgrade they will probably end up in foreclosure.

I've personally see how complicated the city can make something as simple as a bathroom upgrade.

It is difficult to explain if you haven't been through the process. For example, the plumbing inspector will show up to your bathroom and look for a "UPC - C" stamp on your faucet that you bought at RONA or Home Depot. He or she will say....""hmm....there is a "UPC" (Universal Plumbing Code) sticker but it doesn't have the "C" (Canadian)"". Then he or she will say, "sorry I can't pass this, you will either have to remove it or provide paperwork that is Canadian Universal Plumbing Code certified not just Universal Plumbing Code."

You will go back to RONA or Home Depot - the individual working there will have no idea what you are talking about. At that point you'll be forced to get in touch with the manufacture and request that they send the paperwork. Finally you will get the paperwork which now you have to take down to the city to see if the inspector will accept it.

In Langford at least only one inspector comes...Victoria sends a building inspector, an electrical inspector, and a plumbing inspector, and all three have their own ideas on various things.

[sebberry]

I live in a wood building that I KNOW has some questionable electrical work, but do you think there's anything that can be done to force people into a safety check of their plugs and switches? Nope!

[MarkoJ]

I live in a wood building that I KNOW has some questionable electrical work, but do you think there's anything that can be done to force people into a safety check of their plugs and switches? Nope!

I agree with you. In reality the city will never be able to force people to carry out upgrades on questionable or dated work.

What I am trying to say is the city needs to be more accommodating and rationale with people who are actually trying to carry our upgrades on their older homes.

[sebberry]

I agree - an overly complex and convoluted permit and inspection regime discourages upgrades allowing older and unsafe conditions to exist while increasing the chances that upgrades will be done unsafely.

[davek]

I live in a wood building that I KNOW has some questionable electrical work, but do you think there's anything that can be done to force people into a safety check of their plugs and switches? Nope!

Maybe if this sort of situation caused enough problems insurance companies would have the incentive to do a bit of carrot/stick pricing to bring about improvements.

[sebberry]

Granted it might not be a huge problem, but still a problem IMO.


I was talking to someone yesterday who said Victoria didn't start doing building inspections until 1987. Is this true?

[LJ]

[quote name='MarkoJ']
It is difficult to explain if you haven't been through the process. For example, the plumbing inspector will show up to your bathroom and look for a "UPC - C" stamp on your faucet that you bought at RONA or Home Depot. He or she will say....""hmm....there is a "UPC" (Universal Plumbing Code) sticker but it doesn't have the "C" (Canadian)"". Then he or she will say, "sorry I can't pass this, you will either have to remove it or provide paperwork that is Canadian Universal Plumbing Code certified not just Universal Plumbing Code."

quote]

I had to laugh when I read this. When we were building a house in Vancouver, a lot of our plumbing fixtures came from the US. The plumbing wholesaler we were working with gave us a roll of stickers to put on everything, I suspect they may have been counterfeit. We had a pull out faucet in the kitchen and the inspector said the pull out didn't have the appropriate sticker, and he marked it down on his sheet. As he was looking at some bathroom fixtures, I took a sticker from the roll and stuck it on the back of the pullout under the sink. I then called him back and said I had found the sticker, he looked at it and then passed it.

By the way, I still have some if you need them.

[sebberry]

Didn't the Canadian and US governments recently announce an agreement to standardize a lot of this sort of stuff?

[JohnN]

Tiny homes draw big interest

Garden suites, recently approved in the city, offer density, affordability

Judith Lavoie
Times Colonist
March 17, 2012

Pull once and it's a desk, pull again and the bed slides out of the wall.

The double use is repeated throughout the 400-square-foot garden suite, on display in Centennial Square until 5 p.m. today.

The walk-in closet also contains the water tank, and a washer and dryer are neatly tucked away in the corner of the surprisingly spacious bathroom.

"We don't want to have one inch of space that isn't used," said Roger Lam, a planner with Small Modern Living, the North Saanich company marketing the garden suites.

The tiny homes, with abundant natural light and a galley kitchen instead of a hallway, are manufactured by EcoTec Homes in Sooke and, with Victoria recently approving garden suites, the model home is drawing a lot of attention.

"We've had a bunch of mayors and councillors and planning staff from different municipalities," Lam said. "It's starting a real conversation about this kind of infill."

READ MORE:
http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=9f7d3a43-3144-4a9b-9cfa-280cc375c3ef

[PulpVictor]

Affordable for whom? Certainly not the home-owner.

[VicHockeyFan]

Affordable for whom? Certainly not the home-owner.

How do you mean?

The city of Victoria has identified 7500 lots where this type of extra accommodation would be allowed.

I'm guessing that of those 7500 properties, the vast majority of the owners could borrow the entire $100k against their existing house equity in order to construct the garden home.

The only cheaper way to build yourself a revenue property is to make a suite inside your home. If that doesn't suit you, or you don't have the room, then this is the most affordable revenue property you can purchase.

[Mike K.]

I briefly checked this out this morning. I could never live in such a small space, but to each his own.

[sebberry]

Sounds a bit small, but at the prices people pay for 500sq-ft condos, this doesn't sound too bad

[VicHockeyFan]

The whole $100,000 on a 15-year amm. at 5% is less than $800/mo.

$100,000 at 4% on a 10-year amm. is only $1000/mo.

So I think it's ideal to stuff your single-parent kid into. 10 years later, your kid moves out of it, it's paid for.

[concorde]

I live in a wood building that I KNOW has some questionable electrical work, but do you think there's anything that can be done to force people into a safety check of their plugs and switches? Nope!

My question wouldn't be about the city, but the insurance company.  All that fine print could easily exclude an insurance claim if your adjuster or the fire department rules that it was faulty wiring or old knob and tube.  We all know how insurance companies love to pay out money...

[sebberry]

CFAX reporting that secondary suites in Saanich have gone to 3rd reading. 

 

Can't find news article online though. 

 

It sounds like homeowners will be able to rent out a suite providing the owner lives in the house too.  Whole-house rentals won't be permitted, citing noise concerns raised by residents in public consultations. 

[Mr Cook Street]

CFAX reporting that secondary suites in Saanich have gone to 3rd reading. 

 

Can't find news article online though. 

 

It sounds like homeowners will be able to rent out a suite providing the owner lives in the house too.  Whole-house rentals won't be permitted, citing noise concerns raised by residents in public consultations. 

 

As a former Uvic student, I am shocked that secondary suites are not currently allowed in Gordon Head. Myself and friends lived in our fair share of rental suites around there.

[concorde]

I think the other issue with secondary suites that needs to be addressed is tax.  Everything from property tax increases as the zoning of the property should change, to income tax for the rent the homeowner collects and of course a reduced capital gains exemption since the entire property is not your principle residence

[sebberry]

I think some of that is a little extreme.  Can't we let people rent a room or their basement without clobbering them with tax complications?

 

Perhaps if someone owned several houses and was making a living off renting them out you'd want to treat it more like a business.