Quick answer. The City of Calgary's Secondary Suite Amnesty Program waives the Development Permit fee, the Building Permit fee, and safety-code inspection fees for existing (already built) secondary and backyard suites brought forward for legalisation on or before December 31, 2026. The amnesty applies only to suites that already exist, not to new suites you plan to build. After December 31, 2026, full standard fees apply to legalisation applications. Suites that remain unregistered face a bigger downside than a fee: they cannot be legally rented, they invalidate most landlord insurance policies, they can trigger mortgage clauses, and they expose the owner to City enforcement including orders to decommission the suite. If you own a Calgary home with an unregistered basement suite or backyard suite, the four months remaining before the deadline are the cheapest window you will ever see to bring it into compliance.
What the Amnesty Actually Waives
The amnesty covers three fee categories on legalisation applications for existing suites: the Development Permit fee, the Building Permit fee, and safety-code inspection fees. These are the City-charged fees for reviewing your application and inspecting the finished work against the Alberta Building Code and City of Calgary requirements. The waived fees add up to roughly $600 to $1,500 depending on scope, which is meaningful but not the biggest cost of legalising a suite. The larger cost is any physical remediation work required to bring the suite up to code: adding egress windows, hardwiring interconnected smoke alarms, upgrading electrical panels, closing gaps in fire-resistant separations between the suite and the main dwelling. That work is not waived. It is the owner's cost regardless of the amnesty.
What the Amnesty Does Not Cover
- New secondary suites you plan to build after the amnesty ends. The waiver applies only to existing suites brought forward before December 31, 2026.
- Suites in properties that are not zoned to allow a secondary suite. Since Calgary's 2023 land use bylaw amendments, most residential districts permit or discretionarily allow secondary suites, but a small number of parcels remain outside that permitted use. Zoning is checked at the Development Permit stage.
- Physical remediation costs. Egress windows, drywall separations, hardwired smoke and CO alarms, electrical panel work, plumbing corrections, and any structural changes required to meet code are always the owner's cost.
- Trade-permit and utility upgrade fees for related work outside the suite itself.
- The cost of a private safety-code inspection consultant if you choose to hire one to pre-inspect before your City inspection.
Why the Deadline Actually Matters for Landlords
The amnesty fee waiver is the smaller reason to act before December 31, 2026. The bigger reason is that unregistered suites in Calgary carry four separate liabilities for the property owner:
- Landlord insurance exclusions. Most Alberta landlord insurance policies require that the rental unit be legally permitted for residential use. An unregistered suite typically voids fire, liability, and rental income coverage on that portion of the home. If a tenant is injured in the suite or the suite is damaged, the owner is exposed to the full loss.
- Mortgage disclosure. Many residential mortgages require the borrower to disclose material changes in property use, including the addition of a rental suite. Lenders can require refinancing, adjust rates, or, in rare cases, call the mortgage on undisclosed rental use.
- City enforcement. Calgary Bylaw Services responds to complaints about unregistered suites (typically from neighbours). Enforcement can include orders to decommission the suite, which means the tenant must leave and the suite must be physically reverted to non-suite use.
- Sale friction. When you sell a home with an unregistered suite, most buyer agents flag it during due diligence. The buyer either walks, negotiates a price reduction, or requires the seller to legalise the suite before closing. Doing that under time pressure during a live sale is expensive and stressful.
The Legalisation Process, Step by Step
Step 1: Confirm your property is eligible
Check the City of Calgary Land Use Bylaw designation on your parcel using the City's interactive land use map. Most residential districts allow secondary suites, either as a permitted or discretionary use. Confirm that your existing suite matches the definition: a self-contained dwelling unit within the main house (basement or split-level) with its own entrance, kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area. Backyard suites (garden suites, garage suites, laneway houses) fall under a related but separate approval path with additional requirements.
Step 2: Book a pre-application consultation (optional but recommended)
The City offers free pre-application meetings for secondary suite legalisation. Bring the address, current floor plan (hand-sketched is fine at this stage), photos of the suite entrance, kitchen, bathroom, egress windows, smoke and CO alarm locations, and electrical panel. The planner will flag likely code deficiencies before you spend money on drawings.
Step 3: Prepare drawings
The City requires a site plan, floor plans (main dwelling and suite), and a section drawing showing the fire-separation between the two dwellings. If your suite was built without permits, you almost certainly need a professional to produce these: a home designer or draftsperson typically charges $600 to $1,500 for a standard suite drawing package. Some homeowners with construction backgrounds do this themselves; most do not.
Step 4: Submit the Development Permit and Building Permit applications
Submit both permits together through the City's online permitting system. Under the amnesty, the fees for these applications are waived through December 31, 2026. Include your drawings, a description of the existing suite, and photos. Application processing typically takes four to eight weeks depending on volume.
Step 5: Complete required remediation
The City's review will identify code deficiencies. Common items on Calgary suite legalisations include: adding or enlarging egress windows in bedrooms (typical cost $2,500 to $5,000 per window including window well); closing gaps in the fire-resistant separation between the suite and the main dwelling with 15-minute or 45-minute rated drywall assemblies ($800 to $3,000); installing hardwired, interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide alarms ($400 to $900 per unit); electrical panel upgrades if the existing panel cannot handle the additional load ($1,500 to $4,000). The realistic total remediation cost for a suite that was built without permits is $5,000 to $20,000 depending on original construction quality.
Step 6: Book and pass inspections
Building, electrical, plumbing, and gas inspections happen in a specific sequence. Under the amnesty, the inspection fees are waived. If an inspection fails, you correct the deficiency and rebook. Most legalisations require one or two reinspection cycles before final approval.
Step 7: Register on the Secondary Suite Registry
Once the suite has passed all inspections and received its final Building Permit approval, the City adds the property to the Secondary Suite Registry. The Registry is public and searchable, which becomes a marketing asset when you list the property or when a lender or insurer asks for proof of legal suite status.
Realistic Timeline If You Start Today
- Week 1: Pre-application consultation with the City.
- Weeks 2 to 4: Hire designer, produce drawings, order any long-lead items (egress windows have four to eight-week lead times in Calgary).
- Weeks 5 to 12: Submit permits, wait for approval, book contractors for remediation work.
- Weeks 13 to 20: Complete remediation work.
- Weeks 21 to 24: Inspections, reinspections, and final registry update.
A typical Calgary secondary suite legalisation runs five to six months end-to-end under normal conditions. Starting in August 2026, you have four months to the amnesty deadline. That timeline is tight but workable for straightforward suites. Suites requiring major structural remediation (egress in an unfavourable foundation wall, load-bearing changes, panel replacement) may not finish before the deadline, but if you have submitted the permit application before December 31, 2026, the waived fees still apply to that application. What you must not do is wait until December to start, because you will not get the permit application submitted in time even if you intend to complete remediation later.
Backyard Suites (Garden, Garage, and Laneway)
Backyard suites (also called garden suites, garage suites, or laneway houses) are a separate category from basement secondary suites but are also covered by the amnesty. The application process is broadly similar: Development Permit, Building Permit, site-specific inspections. The added complexity is that backyard suites are subject to additional siting rules (setbacks, height, parking) that are not relevant for basement suites, and the City is more likely to require a formal site survey and neighbour circulation. Timelines are typically longer, six to nine months rather than five to six.
What About the Old Non-Compliant Suite You Have Been Renting?
The most common Calgary situation is a homeowner who inherited or bought a home with a suite that was there when they moved in, has been rented out for years, and was never formally registered with the City. The amnesty is designed precisely for this scenario. The City is not pursuing the owner for past unregistered rental income; the goal of the amnesty is to bring the housing stock into the safety and building code framework going forward. As long as the suite is physically capable of being brought into compliance (structurally, the property is zoned to allow it, and no fatal issues like non-compliant ceiling heights below 1.95 metres exist), it can typically be legalised.
The exception is suites in condominiums (which the condo bylaws typically prohibit as separate rentals from the main unit) and suites in properties where zoning does not permit them. Those are edge cases and require different responses.
What Happens January 1, 2027?
Standard permit and inspection fees resume. Based on the current standard fee schedule, legalising an existing suite after the amnesty ends typically costs $1,200 to $2,500 in City fees alone (Development Permit, Building Permit, safety-code inspection fees), on top of the same physical remediation costs. The amnesty is a modest but real subsidy. The bigger driver of the December 31 deadline is that Calgary Bylaw Services enforcement typically increases visibility on unregistered suites after amnesty programs end. History suggests the enforcement risk profile changes materially post-deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the amnesty waive all costs of legalising a suite?
No. It waives Development Permit, Building Permit, and safety-code inspection fees charged by the City. It does not waive drawing costs, physical remediation costs (egress windows, drywall separations, electrical upgrades, smoke and CO alarm installation), professional fees, or any related trade permits. Realistic total legalisation costs including remediation typically run $5,000 to $20,000 depending on how far the existing suite is from code.
Can I rent out a suite while it is being legalised?
Renting out an unregistered suite is technically illegal under the City's licensing framework, and it invalidates most landlord insurance. Once you have submitted the Development Permit application and are actively working toward legalisation, some owners continue to rent while corrections are underway; this is a risk decision each owner makes with their own legal and insurance counsel. The safest position is to have the suite legalised before advertising or continuing to rent it.
What if my property is not zoned for a secondary suite?
As of the 2023 land use bylaw amendments, most Calgary residential districts allow secondary suites either as a permitted or discretionary use. A small number of parcels remain outside that permitted use. If yours is one, you would need a land use amendment (rezoning) to legalise the suite, which is a longer and more expensive process that goes to Council. The amnesty does not apply to rezoning fees.
What is the difference between a suite and a lodging house?
A secondary suite is a self-contained dwelling unit with its own entrance, kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area. Lodging (multiple unrelated tenants renting rooms in a shared house without separate kitchens or entrances) is regulated separately under the City's business licence bylaw and is not what the amnesty addresses.
Can I build a new suite under the amnesty?
No. The amnesty covers only existing suites brought forward for legalisation. New suite construction goes through the standard permit process at standard fees.
How does a legal suite change my property value?
Legally registered secondary suites typically add $50,000 to $150,000 to a Calgary home's resale value depending on the neighbourhood and suite quality, because the buyer can count the suite's rental income toward mortgage qualification and because it eliminates the buyer's due-diligence risk of an unregistered suite. Registered suites also expand the buyer pool to include investors specifically shopping for legal-suite properties.
Does UrbanLease manage properties with basement suites?
Yes. UrbanLease manages both single-tenant properties with legal secondary suites (typically one lease for the whole property or two separate leases for the main house and suite) and properties where the owner lives upstairs and rents only the suite. Property management services are provided by PREP Realty, a RECA-licensed Alberta brokerage. See our secondary suite management overview at /secondary-suite-management-calgary for how we structure leases and marketing for these properties.
Bottom Line
The Calgary Secondary Suite Amnesty is a real, time-limited fee waiver that closes December 31, 2026. Four months remain. If you own a Calgary home with an existing unregistered suite, the combination of waived permit fees, insurance protection, mortgage clarity, resale value uplift, and reduced enforcement risk makes this the cheapest window you will ever have to bring the suite into compliance. Start with the pre-application consultation, get drawings underway in August, and target permit submission by early October to leave buffer for remediation and inspection cycles before the deadline. The physical remediation costs are the same whether you legalise this year or next, but the City fees, the insurance risk, and the enforcement profile are not. UrbanLease can help you structure the rental side of a legalised suite (lease, marketing, tenant screening, ongoing management) once the compliance work is done. Property management services provided by PREP Realty, a RECA-licensed Alberta brokerage.