5619 replies to this topic

[DustMagnet]

In Canada you also can be taxed on illegal income.

So illegal suites might be subject to fees that does not also legitimize them.

Probably not the same thing though - it's not like you can pay taxes on drugs sold and the government is like, "Thanks for the taxes, we're not going to bother investigating the actual drug selling thing."
 

So if the city wanted to tax an illegal suite it would probably also be obligated to pursue a bylaw infraction against the property.  Or maybe not - is the city required to pursue bylaw infractions that are not complaint-driven?

[sdwright.vic]

^actually CRA assess and collects taxes from drug dealers quite often.

[Bob Fugger]

OK, fair points everyone.  With respect to complaint-driven vs proactive bylaw enforcement, I assume given resource constraints, that it is mostly the former.  Except for AirBnB, where the City has contracted out a proactive investigation function to a third party.

 

In this case (and apologies for the thread creep), what does a bylaw officer do when they discover an AirBnB in an illegal suite?  They have committed to shutting down STVR units where they are not permitted.  But if you discover one non-confirming use (STVR) along with another non-conforming use (unregistered basement suite), is it not incumbent upon the City to shut down both?  I can't see how they can, with any legitimacy, selectively choose which bylaws to enforce when they have evidence of simultaneous infractions.  As such, the housing unit is lost, which is exactly what the STVR ban is meant to promote (i.e., more rental units).

[Jackerbie]

I also personally believe the city needs to be taxing houses with illegal suites.  Essentially those basement suites are not paying property taxes, school taxes, etc, etc.  They also create more parking problems because that illegal suite probably has 1 car, maybe 2 depending who lives there.

 

Victoria's bylaws don't require a parking space to be provided for secondary suites or garden suites, so legal or not they may be contributing to increased street parking

[Jackerbie]

OK, fair points everyone.  With respect to complaint-driven vs proactive bylaw enforcement, I assume given resource constraints, that it is mostly the former.  Except for AirBnB, where the City has contracted out a proactive investigation function to a third party.

 

In this case (and apologies for the thread creep), what does a bylaw officer do when they discover an AirBnB in an illegal suite?  They have committed to shutting down STVR units where they are not permitted.  But if you discover one non-confirming use (STVR) along with another non-conforming use (unregistered basement suite), is it not incumbent upon the City to shut down both?  I can't see how they can, with any legitimacy, selectively choose which bylaws to enforce when they have evidence of simultaneous infractions.  As such, the housing unit is lost, which is exactly what the STVR ban is meant to promote (i.e., more rental units).

 

If it's anything like Richmond, the homeowner receives a notice of the infraction and a list of options, typically 1) Remove the suite and have a building inspector confirm it has been removed, or 2) Legitimize the suite through a building permit.

[VicHockeyFan]

^ it’s nothing like that here.

[Mike K.]

^ it’s nothing like that here.

 

Isn't it?

[VicHockeyFan]

I’ve never heard of a basement suite being shut down in my 30+ adult years in Saanich, Victoria or Esquimalt. I know dozens and dozens of people that operate them, own them, and live in them. Never heard a case of enforcement.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 07 May 2018 - 02:24 PM.

[Matt R.]

We rented a suite in an illegal fourplex (legal duplex) on Catherine and Wilson that was shut down by the City in 2008, which was good timing as it forced us to buy a shitty townhouse.

Matt.

[VicHockeyFan]

One account since 2008 then.

0.1 shutdowns per year in CoV.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 07 May 2018 - 05:25 PM.

[Mike K.]

I think you'd be surprised just how often it actually happens.

 

Bylaw can't ignore a complaint and a complaint leading to identified infractions, be they building code or whatnot, must be dealt with.

[tjv]

ok, but what makes a basement officially an illegal suite?  I believe its having a stove I think, but can anyone confirm that?

 

After all lets say I had an illegal basement suite (I don't): 

 

Bedrooms/bathroom - they are just overflow from upstairs

Living room - its just my downstairs rec room

Kitchen - hence where I think the stove thing comes in.  Some luxury houses have 2 kitchens thou or maybe the 2nd one is a kitchenette?

 

Anyway, does anyone know the official answer?

[Mike K.]

It’s usually a full kitchen, plus separate entrances.

[Jackerbie]

Some municipalities (including Victoria) refer to the BC Building Code for their definition of a secondary suite.

 

Dwelling unit means a suite operated as a housekeeping unit, used or intended to be used by one or more persons and usually containing cooking, eating, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities.

 

Secondary suite means an additional dwelling unit a) having a total floor space of not more than 90 m2 in area, b) having a floor space less than 40% of the habitable floor space of the building, c) located within a building of residential occupancy containing only one other dwelling unit, and d) located in and part of a building which is a single real estate entity.

 

Suite means a single room or series of rooms of complementary use, operated under a single tenancy, and includes dwelling units, individual guest rooms in motels, hotels, boarding houses, rooming houses and dormitories as well as individual stores and individual or complementary rooms for business and personal services occupancies.

Taken from https://www2.gov.bc....dary_suites.pdf

[Mike K.]

And here we have another example of a social housing project with just a hair below a 1:1 parking ratio.

 

Publicly funded projects tend to supply significantly more parking than privately funded projects, and often exceed even the City's parking requirements. In the case above 82 stalls are provided for 88-units of housing, outpacing the City's requirement of 54 stalls.

[G-Man]

So you want the state to mandate parking quotas on the private sector?

[sdwright.vic]

But the state already does that with new construction.

[LJ]

In Surrey the fire chief has done a study to show that the space in front of fire hydrants can be reduced to approx. 2 metres from the existing 7 metres thus freeing up 2600 parking spots in Surrey. I guess it would work anywhere.

[rjag]

In Surrey the fire chief has done a study to show that the space in front of fire hydrants can be reduced to approx. 2 metres from the existing 7 metres thus freeing up 2600 parking spots in Surrey. I guess it would work anywhere.

 

Imagine if those fire hydrant spots in Victoria could be changed to commercial and taxi only spots....

[Nparker]

Imagine if those fire hydrant spots in Victoria could be changed to commercial and taxi only spots....

Or really short bike lanes.