Regina amends backyard suite bylaw, hoping for more applications

Regina City Council has amended its backyard suite bylaw in hopes of receiving more applications amid recent years of housing disparity throughout Regina.

Since being passed as a bylaw in 2022, only two backyard suites have actually been built in the city. Manager of City Planning Ben Mario said that the cost of building the suites is deterring applications.

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“Cost is probably the biggest thing right now,” Mario told council on Wednesday. “I think there’s a lot of interest but once people start to do the calculations and pencil things out they become a lot less interested.”

Backyard suites, also known as garden or garage suites, have gained popularity in Calgary and Edmonton over the last few years. Two companies out of Alberta, Modworks and Timber Haus Developments, sell their garden and garage suites at $200,000 or more.

Mario said that the cost of connections to mains are often overlooked and that upgrades should be considered when budgeting for a backyard suite, especially on an established lot.

Last month, the government of Saskatchewan announced its Secondary Suite Incentive (SSI) to increase the availability of rental suites throughout the province.

“The grant program will provide 35 per cent of the cost to build a new secondary suite at an owner’s primary residence, to a maximum grant of $35,000 per qualifying property,” said a statement from the province released at the end of October.

Qualifying properties are new, private, self-contained residential units within a single-family detached home. The properties must include a full kitchen, full bathroom and meet all national, provincial and municipal bylaws, codes and standards.

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Costs eligible for the SSI include engineering and architectural services, materials and contract labour related to construction, interior finishing, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, and standard appliances.

The grant is available to qualifying properties incurring eligible costs from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2026.

A 2013 pilot project had 11 backyard suites built in Green Gardens. Twenty lots were approved in Harbour Landing but only 13 were actually built.

The amendment to the backyard suite bylaw will also change the height limit from 6.5 metres to eight metres.

“We were hearing that this was a barrier in creating more interest for backyard suites,” said Mario. “We found that it was on the low end of height requirements than in other Canadian cities.”

Coun. Lori Bresciani (Ward 4) suggested that city administration do more to promote backyard suites such as putting on town halls or strengthening communication efforts.

AnAmato@Postmedia.com

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