Burnaby to allow laneways, secondary suites in semi-detached homes

Burnaby is expanding housing types in the city, approving laneway homes and secondary suites in semi-detached houses.

The city says it will begin accepting applications for these housing types as of Sept. 18.

It notes laneways and secondary suites will not be allowed to be stratified or sold separately from the main house. The city adds “staff expect many to be built as intergenerational housing.”

According to the city, a survey of Burnaby residents found 78 per cent of people supported secondary suites, so long as there were “controls” like appropriate fees being charged and that the homeowner lives in the main or secondary unit.

“This is a significant step forward for our efforts to add housing to Burnaby, while also preserving the local character that the people living in our single-family neighbourhoods love about where they live,” said Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley.

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The laneways and secondary suites in semi-detached homes are part of the first phase of Burnaby’s Housing Choices program. This program, the city explains, is an initiative that hopes to “introduce new and flexible forms of housing to residential neighbourhoods.”

Changes to current zoning were proposed after public consultation, the city adds.

The City of Burnaby explains laneways are generally built in the backyard or back area of a main house, facing a lane or road behind the property. In addition to creating more rental options, laneways can also be a generator of revenue for homeowners, it adds.

Semi-detached homes, meanwhile, are described as homes with two units built next to one another. The city’s new bylaw says a semi-detached home can now have two secondary suites, with one in each.

“The BC Building Code does not permit secondary suites in stacked duplexes,” the city says.