Interest growing in creating backyard, secondary suites in HRM
In the four months since the Halifax Regional Municipality changed its bylaws to allow backyard and secondary suites, a total of 32 new permits have been issued.
Council approved the bylaw change last September, but the amendment didn’t come into effect until November.
The change allows property owners to create secondary suites — a separate unit within a building, such as a basement or attic apartment — or backyard suites, a unit in a freestanding building on the property, such as a tiny home or an apartment above a garage.
Before the bylaw amendment, some areas of the municipality allowed secondary or backyard suites to be constructed through rezoning or development agreements, but others did not. The change makes the rules consistent across the municipality… [Read More]