Surrey property owner gets notice for breaking city building bylaws

Surrey City Council has filed a notice on a property it says violates city building bylaws.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke tells 1130 NewsRadio that the owner of a property located near 126 Street and 76 Avenue has built three additional suites on top of their original home without any building permits. 

She says the owner seemed to have ignored “stop work” orders from bylaw inspectors for over two years, and the issue recently returned to the city. 

The city then decided to put a “red flag” on their property title. 

“This is really a public safety issue,” she said. “This owner built three full suites, three full kitchens, wiring and plumbing, and all those things that go along with a full development.” 

Locke says it was a significant add-on, claiming it was “more than doubling the size of the home.” 

The mayor says anyone planning to make changes to their property must get a permit before they make any additions to their homes. 

“You can only imagine if a fire were to happen; if there was a fire in that premises, it would spread like crazy,” she said. “This is now a multi-story house. It went from a very small footprint to a very large footprint.”

Locke says it is significant to have reputable people do the work; as of now, the city has no idea who built that house. 

“What was in the wall? What was in the wiring? There is no way that the city would know that without having a permit,” she said. 

The mayor says anyone else can purchase this property, but it may be difficult for them to get a mortgage or insurance. 

“You can’t just build whatever you want on your property and think that it’s not going to impact future homeowners,” she said. “This is a very big issue.” 

Locke explains that in the future, the owner of this property could face issues if they decide to sell or refinance the property. 

“It will give notice to anybody that this property has a risk assessment on it,” the mayor said. 

Locke says there are far too many people who have “stop work” orders on their properties in Surrey. She says often people rip off the orders and ignore them. 

“They don’t respond to the bylaw officers when they knock on the door. And so we’re just taking action with that kind of behaviour,” she said. 

Locke says that the owner of this property had already received penalties of $5,000 because of the bylaws they breached, but having this on their property title is a “whole different ballgame.” 

“Illegal construction not only poses serious safety risks but also erodes the integrity of building regulations. The legal measures we have taken will protect neighbourhoods, future homeowners, and uphold the standards that make Surrey a safe and vibrant place to live for all. I would like to thank the Illegal Construction Enforcement Team for their diligent efforts in this critical work,” the mayor said, in a release on Tuesday.  

The City of Surrey says to file a complaint about any construction suspected to have been done without permits, anyone can email bylawcomplaint@surrey.ca or call 604-591-4370. It says complaints can also be submitted online through the Report a Problem application. 

—With files from Michael Williams and Catherine Garrett.