My buyer clients were looking at a property with a secondary suite. They wanted to know if the suite was legal. There was nothing on the City of Edmonton website under 'Secondary suites-completed permits.' As proof that the secondary suite was legal, the sellers offered a City tax assessment showing the address of the secondary suite.
Folks, a tax assessment is not proof of legality. The City's tax department is quite happy to collect higher taxes from a higher assessed property. They don't really care whether the suite is legal or illegal. That's up to the City's planning department to regulate, inspect and deal with.
Do NOT accept a tax assessment as proof that a secondary suite is legal!
Cheers,
Barry
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