Comment 62707

By jonathan (registered) | Posted April 26, 2011 at 11:39:12

I largely agree with seancb; the city's by-laws regarding these such units are very discouraging. It's not just zoning by-laws; there are others such as, "your emergency fire escape can't be seen from the street". Silly stuff, really. These bylaws should be pared down to those that address simply safety, without going into the absurd. Really, if it's good enough for a standard, single family house, it should be good enough for a house split into a couple of units (with a couple of small changes, like interconnected fire alarms).

Where I don't agree is related to the taxes. I simply don't agree with the rate at which multi-unit dwellings are taxed. A split house often contains no more persons than would a single-family home, and requires little to no more resources from the city. While I could understand a slight increase in tax, the current increase is far too high. For example, Hamilton's tax rate on a single-family home is 1.54%. On a multi-unit, it is 3.8%. Understandable if we're talking 5+ stories, but for a single-family home that's been split into two? Ridiculous. It's no surprise that, despite being up to safety codes, many of these units remain undeclared, simply for tax reasons.

Comment edited by jonathan on 2011-04-26 12:04:36

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