Secondary Suites

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 are permitted in all residential zones, assuming you can meet the requirements below. If requirements cannot be met, applicants can apply for a variance for Council to consider varying regulations in special circumstances. 

For additional information on requirements for a secondary suite in Prince Rupert, see below. 

  • 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

A Building Permit is required prior to commencing work on the suite. Addressing will be done after final inspection.