The City of Prince Rupert encourages residents looking for a mortgage helper to consider putting in a secondary suite. Secondary suites are a great way for our community to create additional housing with minimal impact on the character of local neighbourhoods, and also increases the affordability of housing for people looking to buy-in to the housing market.
Secondary suites, attached and detached from the principle dwelling, can be permitted in all residential zones, assuming you can meet the requirements below. Applicants can apply for a variance for Council to consider varying regulations in particular circumstances if requirements cannot be met.
For additional information on requirements for a secondary suite in Prince Rupert, see below.
- Only one accessory dwelling unit permitted for each principle dwelling
- One off-street parking space
- A fire separation having a fire resistance rating of not less than 45 min
- Hard wired interconnected smoke detectors with a battery back-up. One in each bedroom and one serving the rest of the suite
- An egress-able window in each bedroom, with a minimum window size of .35 square metres (3.8 square feet) with no dimension less than 380 millimetres (15 inches)
- Access to the electrical panel
- Exterior metal entrance door with weather-stripping and a door viewer or transparent glazing or a sidelight.
- A kitchen sink, lavatory, bathtub or shower and a water closet
- Minimum ceiling height is 6 foot 11 inches
- The area of the suite cannot exceed 40% of the total living floor space of the building in which it is located and cannot exceed 970 square feet
- All accesses must connect to dedicated roadways designed and constructed to MMCD Standards
A Building Permit is required prior to commencing work on the suite. Addressing will be done after final inspection.