Many times buyers will discover the home they are purchasing has the potential or already has a basement apartment. Right away it seems like a great thing as that extra source of income can sweeten the deal.
The first thing that needs to be clarified is the zoning permitted for the propertly. Many times homeowners will complete renovations of new units without the necessary permits. Not only is it an offense to complete new units without building permits but the zoning may not permit the extra unit. If this is the case a lengthy and costly zone change application will have to be processed by the municipality. As this is a public process, it may not be what the neighbourhood would like and you may have to remove the unit entirely.
In regards to safety, Ontario has two documents that govern basement apartments. One is the Building Code that regulates new construction and the other is the Fire Code for existing construction. Depending on municipal policies this unit may be regulated by either since they do not know when the construction took place.
In general the codes look at three major items for code compliance. The first is fire separations that contain the fire in the units. Now that there are two separate units in the building there is no control over each other. If a fire occurs the other unit would be oblivious to this fact. That is why the codes require fire separations to slow the spread of fire to the other unit.
The second item is egress. Generally, you will need to ways out of either unit without the use of windows. When this cannot be achieved other egress facilites can be approved. A full evaluation must be done in this case to see what measures can be taken to allow the one conforming means of egress.
The last item is detection. The Building and Fire Codes will require interconnected smoke alarms to warn the other unit occupants of fire. Interconnected smoke alarms may also be required to deal with egress issues in the home.
These are by no means the only items that need to be present to have a legal basement apartment. You need to ensure that a home inspector with specific fire and building code experience is hired to help you through the process.
Gerald Moore, CRBO, CBCO, AScT
RSM Building Consultants
www.rsmbuildingconsultants.com
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