canada british-columbia hoa strata-property
Strata bylaw about secondary suite in Lower mainland area
<p>The townhome is in Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada and the strata by-law states</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Secondary suites within Strata Lots are prohibited. Should any Owner of
a Strata Lot be found to have constructed a secondary suite within his or
her or any other Strata Lot located in the Strata Plan, the Strata Council
shall be entitled to take any one or more of the following actions:
(a) take all necessary steps to remove the secondary suite;
(b) notwithstanding section 25 (1) of these Bylaws, levy a fine not to
exceed $50.00 per day for each day the Owner is in contravention,
such fine to be added to and form part of the month’s assessment
or levy to be collected by the Strata Council from the Owner of the
Strata Lot and the Strata Council are hereby authorized to take all
necessary steps to collect such amounts from any Owner;
(c) evict the tenant in accordance with section 138 of the Strata
Property Act;
(d) seek a declaration from any Court of competent jurisdiction with
regard to the enforcement with limitation and/or an injunction to
prevent the continuation of the secondary suite within a Strata Lot;
and upon receiving such declaration or injunction, costs shall be
the responsibility of the Strata Lot Owner contravening the
provisions of the Bylaw and shall be recoverable on a solicitor and
own client basis by the Strata Corporation; and
(e) should any portion of Bylaw 2 (2) be deemed unenforceable by any
competent jurisdiction, then for purposes of interpretation and
enforcement of the Bylaw, each sub-paragraph hereof shall be
deemed a separate provision and severable, and the balance of
the provisions contained herein shall remain in full force and effect.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The unit already has a living room, bedroom, bathroom and Laundry which are legal and approved by the strata.</p>
<p>If we were to rent it out, we are considering adding a kitchenette ie a Refrigerator, Small Induction top stove/Rice cooker/Electric Hot pot/Coffee maker and microwave i.e. Regular kitchen appliances other than a full size gas.</p>
<p>Will this be flouting the by-law? Would adding the above setup for a small kitchenette make it a secondary suite? Could that be problematic in any way?</p>
<p>**Strata does not define any rental restrictions in BC by the law.
They have just the secondary suite restriction.</p>

<p>You will need look up the definition of a &quot;secondary suite&quot; and include that in your question for a better answer.</p>
<p>Where I live this is called an ADU, for Auxiliary Dwelling Unit.  The definition of an ADU specifies permanent facilities for sleeping, sanitation, and food preparation.  Since you can add bedrooms and bathrooms to any house without creating an ADU, it really hinges on &quot;permanant facilities for food preparation&quot;.  In other words, a kitchen.</p>
<p>Since you could have a coffee pot or microwave in your master bedroom and it wouldn't be a kitchen, it is generally considered that small countertop appliances don't count.</p>
<p>Since many people have an extra full sized refrigerator or freezer in their garage without it being a kitchen, it is reasonable that doesn't count either.</p>
<p>Same thing with a sink in the utility room...</p>
<p>So where does the line lay with a &quot;kitchenette&quot;?  That will depend on the exact wording of the bylaws for your locality, as well as how whoever enforces these things interprets it.  Could it be a problem?  Perhaps... if you advertise it for rent with a kitchen and the local authority takes notice.</p>
<p>FMI, what is a &quot;Strata lot&quot;?</p>
