City council has opted to extend the secondary suites application deadline to Sept. 1.

The previous deadline of July 1 was pushed back to provide owners of secondary suites more time to get their development permit applications into the Inspections and Licensing Department for existing suites.

“Ideally, property owners with pre-existing secondary suites will recognize the benefits of the extension and will start the application process, because after September 1 owners of suites will not have the opportunity to apply and we will begin the process of shutting down illegal suites,” said Joyce Boon, manager of Inspections and Licensing.

Come Sept. 1, the City will be enforcing the bylaw for illegal suites. Owners without a valid permit will be fined $500 for first offence, $1,000 for a second offence and $5,000 for a third offence.

“The City’s number one concern is and has always been residents’ safety, and as long as a suite owner has registered an application with the City, the owner will not be subject to penalties.”

-Weber