Converting your basement into an apartment
By Amy Brown-Bowers
• Bankrate.com
One Toronto contractor estimates that a full conversion costs between $30,000 and $50,000. If you need to lower the floor to meet ceiling height requirements, you should add another $20,000 to the bill.
The CMHC
provides economic assistance to home owners who build secondary
or garden suites on their property for either low-income seniors
or disabled adults.
Curb appeal
Once you have fulfilled your legal requirements, you may want to consider some extra touches to make your unit as appealing as possible to tenants, as a legal but dark basement unit with little privacy will likely sit vacant.
Jeff Hersh, founder of myhood.ca, a Toronto apartment review web site, says the worst reviews he sees are typically from tenants living in basement apartments. "It's mostly because of the condition of the place -- cockroaches, no light, etc. Basement apartments are susceptible to the worst things and landlords need to take this into account when converting their place," Hersh says.
The Najams went to great lengths to create a comfortable apartment for their tenants. Their walk-out unit has full-sized windows, new modern appliances and even a porch area. They provide a space heater in the winter months to reduce the basement chill and have installed motion sensor lighting and a sidewalk along the side of the house for their tenants' safety. "It's better to spend a little bit more money," Najam says.
Becoming a landlord
"You need to know your legal responsibilities to your tenants," says lawyer and notary Garry Wise, of the Wise Law Office, in Toronto. So, it's important to brush up on your province's landlord and tenant legislation as well as the human rights code since tenants have rights and protections that go above and beyond what's included in a lease.
The best way to protect yourself as a landlord is to prepare a good lease with the help of a lawyer and to do proper screening of your tenants. "It might take a little bit longer to rent (the unit), but take your time," Najam says.
FlexHousing
If you are shopping for a new home and want the option of creating
a secondary suite down the road, look for builders specializing
in FlexHousing,
a CMHC concept that refers to homes that can be changed over time
to suit the needs of the home owners.
These homes feature floor plans that allow houses to convert from, say, a four-bedroom home to a duplex or rental suite and back again with minimal renovation costs. These homes are designed to meet the needs of a family that changes in size over time -- from a couple to a growing family to empty nesters.
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