CITIES IN FLUX
Social Adventures in Secondary Units
— Pernille Goodbrand
Secondary housing units play a key role for density in cities as they accommodate students and professionals going through life course transitions and eager to find cheaper rents. However, as is shown in this article, in many cases the renters need to address unwanted social collisions and become adept at managing relationships; especially if the landlord also lives in the unit.
You may have heard of secondary suites—the self-contained and subdivided housing units for rent, existing within or on the same lot as a primary unit - within single detached houses or duplexes, townhomes or renovated brownstones. Recently published research by Kylee van der Poorten and Byron Miller, shows that secondary suites exist in virtually all neighbourhoods, but are especially prevalent in low income and immigrant receiving neighbourhoods.
Secondary suites are different from other house-sharing situations in that suites have their own sanitary, cooking and sleeping facilities. Also, the informal nature of renting a unit inside a subdivided structure not meant for subdivision, implies that social relationships, whether good or bad, must be constantly managed and negotiated.
Knowing the exact number of secondary suites is virtually impossible because most exist illegally; however, van der Poorten and Miller peg the number at 13,812, of which only 278, or 2%, are legal.[i] Suites are often hidden in plain sight; typically, but not always, in converted basements within structures not built for having two or more units. According to estimates by McMaster University researchers Kathleen Kinsella and Richard Harris, secondary suites represent around a quarter of all rental units in the country, making secondary suites one of the most pervasive types of rental housing throughout Canada.[ii] Most units are likely illegal. However, it is not in itself illegal to live in a secondary suite.
As cities across the world emphasize the necessity of denser urban spaces - in Calgary, the City Council approved in 2009 the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) aiming to keep 50% of population growth inside developed areas - the viability, role and utility of secondary suites remains an open debate.
One thing is certain though: if demand exists, because of the economic appeal to both renters and landlords and because enforcement is lenient, secondary suites will continue to play a key role in how cities achieve denser communities, beyond the multi-family and building up models.
“Secondary suites are increasingly common, and therefore increasingly important for tenants, landlords, and for cities. For tenants, they are a major source of more affordable housing. For landlords they are a valuable income supplement/mortgage helper,” says Harris, who is considered one of the foremost authorities on secondary suites in Canada. “For cities, they are an unobtrusive form of densification. And they can also be useful for the growing elderly population: granny flats enable them to have their own home but within easy reach of family supports.”[iii]
Among the reasons cited by researchers like Harris and Kinsella for secondary units’ emergency and prevalence are the lack of funding for social housing, the increasing income polarization and rapidly rising real estate prices in urban areas, and the fact that these unit arrangements offer the greatest range in rental cost and unit layout. Secondary suites attract university or secondary school students; young couples or single professionals from a workforce that is increasingly freelance; and millennials seeking to climb the financial and professional ladder.
However, because much of the discussion about secondary suites revolves around land use restrictions and market issues, we still know little about their social impact: how their unauthorized and makeshift nature shapes relationships among those living in them, and how a renter’s daily experience extends beyond the mundane renting arrangements and exchange of money into a collision of attendant themes.
In the fall/winter of 2014/2015, as part of my research for my Master’s thesis, I spoke to 32 renters of unauthorized secondary suites.[iv] My goal was to find out why they had chosen to live in a suite, and to learn about their dealings with landlords and rapport with neighbours.
All those I spoke to were living in basement units in subdivided structures, and 60% had landlords living on the main floor. All the participants knew their suites were illegal, but they were generally not concerned about this if they felt safe. But there was more to renting an unauthorized suite than legality; it quickly became clear to me that this type of housing embodied highly complex social interactions with a steep learning curve about the dynamics of people living together - and how it entails a constant relationship management - especially when your landlord lives above you.
Among the most recurrent findings of my research were that the lack of soundproofing in most of these structures leads to an involuntary awareness of the intimacy of the lives of others; and not having control of the temperature requires a constant communication, and negotiation, with the person who controls it. On a positive note, I also found that the informal nature of leases creates opportunities for social interaction and sharing, as well as flexible rents with deductions in return for completion of chores and maintenance.
While it is impossible to generalize widely from 32 interviews, my research established various reasons why secondary suites fit a renter’s needs: these suites are generally less expensive and in many instances more spacious than other options renters found. Many suites allowed pets, offered amenities such as garage space and access to a backyard, leases were often flexible, and suites were generally located in areas that renters found desirable. In addition, many people appeared to choose secondary suites to navigate personal transitions, as they moved from one stage of their lives to another, either as students or newcomers to Calgary, or saving for homeownership or enduring a marital breakup.
Suites are a gray area niche in the housing market, and “they thrive or wither as other elements change,” McMaster’s Harris states.[v] Suites “usually meet some, but rarely all, municipal [or provincial] requirements.”
RISKY BUSINESS
In a 2013 pilot project sampling 50 suites, The City of Calgary found pervasive unsafe conditions resulting from fire and building code violations.[vi] [vii] Which probably explains why only a minority of secondary units feature formal visual indicators of their legal status, such as more than one water meter, fire escapes or multiple front entrances. Informal, illegal units, on the other hand, are more commonly detected by what Harris and Kinsella call “behavioural indicators”[viii]: multiple mailboxes or makeshift sub numbering of units (ABCD or 1234), several satellite dishes on their roofs, or more than one recycling bin.
Choosing an unpermitted suite in Calgary needs to be understood in the context of the hot Calgary rental market in the years leading up to my thesis interviews. In 2012, 2013, and 2014, vacancy rates were around 1%, and many respondents said they looked for alternatives, but there was little else available. At this same time, real estate prices in urban areas were quickly rising.
According to the 2017 census, today’s vacancy rates after Calgary’s economic downturn hover just under 5%. Even now though, the demand for secondary suites has not diminished, as it is unlikely that a student would give up a $750 a month basement suite because a $2,000 a month Beltline condo becomes available. In Calgary, the worst suites may remain empty as prices for the best and legal suites have declined. But not for long: there are few alternatives that can match secondary suites’ rents, costs, location, amenities, and tolerance for pets. As one renter explained, “with secondary suites you have the benefits of a house without the cost of a house.”
MANAGING CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
Nuisances caused by living in close proximity to others might be an inevitable part of urban life. Noise disputes, for example, are certainly not reserved for living in subdivided houses, but their makeshift structures make noise an inherent feature. In fact, noise due to non-existing soundproofing was the most frequent issue renters mentioned about living in an unpermitted secondary suite; one that also made the relationships with landlords living on top tricky.
One person I interviewed said when she moved in, her suite “seemed nice at first.” Soon she found out that the place was devoid of soundproofing, with few barriers between the main floor and the basement. “The landlord was a nightmare to live with,” she said. “Every time we made the smallest noise, even talking, after 9:30pm, the landlord would stomp on the floor, yell at us to be quiet, and then would write threatening emails.” (Female 18-24, no longer in suite, worked full time.)
In a reverse situation, when landlords’ schedules and noisy habits disrupted a renter’s sleep or studying time, one interviewee said her landlords’ loud and frequent arguments, which she could clearly hear, would make her almost physically ill. “Once they started, I felt sick with anger and frustration,” she said. “It was strange, but I had intimate knowledge of everything. They must have known I could hear, but they seemed to get so wrapped up that they forgot I was there.” (Female 25-33, currently in suite, worked full time.)
The informal and short-lived nature of secondary suites arrangements forces renters to be more flexible with their landlords, especially not speaking up when landlords would not comply with requests to fix less-than-ideal living conditions (stained carpets, faulty wiring, venting issues, lack of egress). “I am lucky my landlords are so quiet, because I would find it very hard to complain about noise made by the people who own the house; it is their house, not mine, so they can do whatever they want,” said another interviewed female (25-33, currently in suite, worked full time).
CLIMATE CHANGE
In the majority of suites not to code, the main floor and basement units run on the same heating and ventilation system, which is almost always controlled from the main unit. A self-contained unit ceases to be self-contained when the control of the temperature is located in the unit above. Although control over the temperature may seem trivial, or as a minor inconvenience at the most, when temperature changes require communication, a building issue can quickly become a social issue. The necessity to interact over the most basic things affects the unit’s “self-contained-ness”, and whatever independence was hoped for by living in it.
One renter who had a fairly good relationship with the people living upstairs, who were of similar age and generally friendly, emphasized how lucky he was, because even when they controlled the temperature, “whenever it was too cold or too hot, me or my roommate would text them to turn the temperature up or down.” (Male 25-33, no longer in suite, student.)
But not all shared his luck. A female renter, who described the heating system in her house as broken, told me that when the upstairs tenants turned on the heat, all the heat went into the basement. She said she recorded up to 43C during the winter. (Female 25-33, currently in suite, worked full time.)
The ability to control the temperature can also be used by landlords as a selling feature for the suite. But I heard several examples of this control being revoked once the lease was signed. For example, when one renter went to see a suite, it had an electric heater. When he moved in, the landlord had removed it and told him that if he wanted it, he would have to pay extra. In a similar situation, one renter wondered if his suite was illegal because he could not control the heat, but quickly accepted it: “There was nothing I could do because there was nothing else in this price range that would also allow my pets.” (Male 25-33, currently in suite, worked full time.)
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR
For some landlords, secondary suites are a form of adaptive reuse. If personal boundaries are respected, proximity can be an advantage, perhaps especially for elderly homeowners wanting to age in-place.
Many renters who had a living-in homeowner mentioned sharing meals, carpooling, and going grocery shopping with their landlords. Others mentioned the added security for both when having someone close by. In the case of renters living below an elderly landlady, one interviewee described how she would “visit with her and help her with day-to-day things like mail, explain letters that come, shovel walks, open cans and jars, and help her with the TV and remotes.” (Female 25-33, currently in suite, worked full time.)
Companionship should not be taken for granted. Subdivision is not house sharing or co-living as if the homeowner/landlords were getting a roommate in their tenant. Renters reported that their landlords did not understand that once rented, they no longer had full access to the space, as one participant explained: “She [the landlord] did not respect my space – she would sometimes enter my unit to air it out!” (Male 25-33, no longer in suite, student.) The same landlord also lectured him on when he should and should not be home, how much toilet paper to use, “and scolded me if I ever left lights on when leaving.” Another renter would often find her landlord’s children playing in her living room.
In both these cases, the renters and their landlords did not know each other in advance. A study from a Seattle suburb[ix] found that on upwards of 50% of secondary suite renters are family, friends, friends of family, or co-workers of the homeowner landlord, and pre-existing relationships can complicate matters because determining how to have a relationship while ensuring independence needs to be established.
“Just because we were friends, we wouldn’t come to each other’s doors and knock. We would text each other before making contact directly,” a female renter said. “We would go for coffee, always somewhere else, just because the landlord is right there doesn’t mean that there is full access.” (Female 34-44, no longer in suite, worked full time.)
Another advantage of having a good relationship with a resident landlord is their flexibility with the lease. For instance, resident landlords may make special concessions for personal reasons, as happened with a female renter who would babysit for her landlord in exchange for a reduction in the rent. In another case, when the husband of a female renter moved in, the landlord upped the rent a little, but would then subtract from the rent as the husband helped the landlord with chores and maintenance in and around the entire house.” (Female, 34-44, no longer in suite, worked full time.)
Other landlords lowered the rent simply because they liked their renters. During a second year as a renter, a female renter said her landlords always told her how good a tenant she was, and deducted $50 from her monthly rent. “They also decided to share their Wi-Fi password with me, free of charge. I was even invited to family events,” she said. (Female 34-44, currently in suite, worked full time.)
MAXIMIZING PROFITS
For landlords, the economic incentive is obviously the extra income, from either renting the whole subdivided property or a significant space of the property when they live in it. Renovations depend on their personal outlook. One landlord who did not live in the premises said it was not economically feasible for him to make upgrades. Like him, many opt for maximizing profits margins, among other things, by skirting zoning bylaws, building codes, fire regulations, or simply by evading taxes when all business is managed under the table.
All landlords I interviewed were aware that they were renting out illegal suites. Their incentive to do so came from the demand they saw. For instance, one landlord told me he couldn’t count the calls he got when he advertised his suite on Kijiji.
One the other hand, a landlady renovated her basement suite extensively “to make it nice,” because she needed the rent to afford staying in her home. Her problem was that she did not include an egress window and her tenant reported her to The City. The landlady had to spend additional $8,000 to hire a consultant to ensure he suite would be approved.
Another landlord, who fully upgraded his basement suite to comply with all regulations, never applied for permits because he found the process too cumbersome and expensive. It did not matter. When he posted his suite for rent, he received 40 responses in two days. “Having suites is about maximizing profits and changing zoning or applying for all permits is a hassle,” the first landlord said.
His brother attempted a similar conversion, but had a neighbour who complained when he found out renters would be coming to his block, delaying the project by five months and adding several thousand dollars to the cost of the suite - a cost that would be passed on to future renters.
WHAT IS A CITY TO DO?
As Richard Harris states, suites are an evolving niche changing with the housing market.[x] The City of Calgary does not have a concrete solution for dealing with unauthorized secondary suites. Perhaps there is no way to ever deal with them. In my own experience, after three years of studying them, I still have more questions than answers. However, a few things are now clear:
The resistance to suites often has to do with bias towards renters. It is not fair, or accurate, to ascribe personal characteristics to people based on their housing tenure.
If a secondary suite complies with rules and regulations, why stand in the way of an owner who is willing to do the right thing? If things go bad, Community Standard Bylaws should be used to regulate undesirable behaviour. It is not the job of land-use to regulate the user, and if conditions are otherwise met, people should be able to reconfigure and convert living spaces.
Unauthorized suites are often hidden in plain sight, and I will argue that secondary suites generally cause minimal disruption to neighbours and neighbourhoods. However, reassuring nervous and fearful neighbours that bylaw infractions by nuisance neighbours (secondary suite or otherwise) will be dealt with, may mitigate fears. As cities densify, cordial neighbour relationships are essential to co-existence, and people need to feel that they have recourse when situations become unmanageable.
Renters of secondary suites need tenant rights. Once we stop confusing use with user, public debate on secondary suites should switch to how we can ensure that renters’ rights are secured and safety is ensured.
References:
[i] van der Poorten, K. and Miller, B. (2017), Secondary suites, second-class citizens: The history and geography of Calgary's most controversial housing policy. The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe canadien. doi:10.1111/cag.12425
[ii] Harris, R. and Kinsella, K. (2017), Secondary suites: A survey of evidence and municipal policy. The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe canadien. doi:10.1111/cag.12424
[iii] The comment from Harris is taken from personal correspondence with the author.
[iv] All excerpts come from interview notes taken during the 32 interviews. The study was approved by the University of Calgary’s Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB). The ethics approval hinged on interviewees remaining anonymous, and therefore only gender, age category, if they lived in the suite at the time of the interview, and their occupation are included as descriptors. Some descriptors are the same; however, all excerpts used for this piece comes from different individuals.
[v] Harris, R. (2017), Secondary suites. Introduction to the Special Section. The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe canadien. doi:10.1111/cag.12422.
[vi] De Jong, C. (2013). Initial findings – suite safety approach (Planning, Development & Assessment Report to SPC on planning and urban development, June 12). Retrieved from www.calgary.ca.
[vii] Nolais, J. (2013). Calgary pilot project finds ‘significant safety issues’ in half of secondary suites. Metro News. Retrieved from http://www.metronews.ca/news/calgary/2013/06/09/calgary-pilot-project-finds-significant-safety-issues-in-half-of-secondary-suites.html
[viii] Harris, R. and Kinsella, K. (2017), Secondary suites: A survey of evidence and municipal policy. The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe canadien. doi:10.1111/cag.12424
[ix] Mazur, D. L. (2000). Accessory dwelling units: affordable apartments, helping people who have low income and people who are aging in single family housing. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing.
[x] The comment from Harris is taken from personal correspondence with the author.'
Pernille Goodbrand is an urban sociologist based in Calgary, and interested in urban housing issues and solutions.
-- Editors: Ricardo Castillo, Jessie Andjelic