By David F. Rooney
There are dozens, maybe scores or even hundreds, of illegal secondary suites in the city and the local government is finally starting to try and address the situation.
That’s the premise behind a public meeting next Tuesday aimed at home owners who may be considering renting suites or rooms in their homes.
“Nobody knows how many (illegal suites) there are out there,” says Community Economic Development Director Alan Mason. “It’s felt that it’s time to address the situation.”
He said the City Planning Department will provide information on all the by-laws and regulations related to rental accommodations. The City has also lined up a local rental property owner who will talk about his experiences renting them out.
The City actually has for a couple of years had in place a process in place for homeowners to register suites they wish to rent out but the last time Mason checked only two people had registered. Nevertheless there are a lot of rooms being rented out.
While this session isn’t supposed to address the enforcement end of the situation, Mason said that would be the focus of another meeting to be held at a future date.
If you’re planning on renting out a room or even a suite in your house this is one public meeting you won’t want to miss.
The meeting is to be held at the Community Centre on Tuesday, Dec. 1 from 7 pm until 9 pm.
