10/09/2026
Calgary now has 26,000+ legal secondary suites and the city built zero of them. Every single one came from a homeowner or investor who did the work to create safe housing.
In 2013, the rules were a mess. Zoning didn’t fit, enforcement didn’t work, and you had to meet full requirements just to get started. In 2018, the City flipped it: fewer permits, waived fees, most properties allowed, and an education-first approach to safety.
The fee waiver is still active until the end of 2026.
If you’ve been sitting on a basement suite idea, the window is open right now. Let’s run the numbers before it closes.