It is now easier for Calgary homeowners to build secondary suites. In April, when Calgary City Council approved the repeal for a citywide blanket rezoning, it also voted to automatically approve secondary suites by listing them as “permitted use” across Calgary.
This means that secondary suites will be exempt from needing a development permit, only requiring a building permit if all the rules in the bylaw are met. Rules for backyard suites will remain the same.
“Council and I think the public as a whole has recognized that there’s a reason that we should have an automatic approval for basement suites,” said Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas to Calgary media. “This is a needed way to be able to provide housing.”
According to city administration, this approval will save up to six weeks of processing time and over $600 in permit fees to Calgarians looking to build secondary suites.
As a result of this decision, the City is expecting approximately 2,300 secondary suites to be built per year.
Whether Calgarians turn these units into rentals or use them as guest accommodation, legal secondary suites can help increase the overall value of a property and also provide housing for Calgarians in need of more affordable options.
For example, as part of its Housing Strategy, in 2024 the City of Calgary inaugurated the Secondary Suite Incentive Program to provide qualified homeowners up to $10,000 to cover a portion of construction costs to help them build, improve and legalize secondary suites.
Since then, the number of suites on the city’s Secondary Suite Registry has doubled – from 13,000 in 2024 to 26,000 in 2026.
“At less than $10,000 per door, this program has been the most efficient and cost-effective way to create thousands of new homes across Calgary,” said Reid Hendry, Chief Housing Officer, in a City of Calgary news statement.
“By helping homeowners add safe, legal secondary suites, we’ve vastly increased the supply of market-affordable rental homes in established communities where people already have access to services and amenities.”
While new applications to the Secondary Suite Incentive Program are currently being placed on a waitlist, homeowners under review are still in line to receive funding. The waitlist remains open until applications are reviewed and all funding is disbursed.
Whether you’d like to buy or sell a property with a secondary suite, a REALTOR® can provide you with all the information to make an informed decision in terms of comparable prices in the neighbourhood, market conditions and the proper steps to go through in a home purchase.
Sources:
• Secondary Suite Incentive Program | City of Calgary
• Suite success: how homeowners created thousands of homes through Incentive Program
• Calgary maintains rules for backyard suites but secondary suites will get ‘automatic approval’
