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Real Estate

Brampton residents battle over basement suites—which are illegal, apparently

By Monika Warzecha
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Toronto may want for reasonably priced housing, but over in Brampton, residents are clashing over something this city takes for granted: basement apartments. Since 1998, Brampton has prohibited any new basement suites from being built. That law, however, hasn’t stopped some 30,000 illegal apartments from popping up to meet an overwhelming demand for cheaper digs (not that all basement suites are cheap, mind you). The Ontario government passed legislation in 2010 that requires municipalities to legalize such suites in order to help cut waiting lists for affordable housing, but Brampton hasn’t yet complied. Apparently, some Bramptonites think legalizing the suites will jam residential streets, cause unsightly garbage piles and overcrowd schools. Others believe the battle is drawn along cultural lines, since Brampton’s immigrant communities tend to support legalizing these spaces. We’re betting a new bylaw for basement rentals probably won’t be worked out any time soon, either: according to the city’s website, the new provincial rules came into effect this year, but don’t specify a deadline by which municipalities must change their policy. [Toronto Star]

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