Subterranean Commodification: Informal Housing and the Legalization of Basement Suites in Vancouver from 1928 to 2009

Abstract

This article draws on Margaret Radin's theorization of ‘contested commodities' to explore the process whereby informal housing becomes formalized while also being shaped by legal regulation. In seeking to move once‐informal housing into the domain of official legality, cities can seldom rely on a simple legal framework of private‐law principles of property and contract. Instead, they face complex trade‐offs between providing basic needs and affordability and meeting public‐law norms around living standards, traditional neighbourhood feel and the environment. This article highlights these issues through an examination of the uneven process of legal formalization of basement apartments in Vancouver, Canada. We chose a lengthy period—from 1928 to 2009—to explore how basement apartments became a vital source of housing often at odds with city planning that has long favoured a low‐density residential built form. We suggest that Radin's theoretical account makes it possible to link legalization and official market construction with two questions: whether to permit commodification and how to permit commodification. Real‐world commodification processes—including legal sanction—reflect hybridization, pragmatic decision making and regulatory compromise. The resolution of questions concerning how to legalize commodification are also intertwined with processes of market expansion.

Secondary suites: A survey of evidence and municipal policy

“…They may also take in tenants for non‐monetary reasons: to help out friends and kin, or for company (cf. Klein and Sears , 25; CMHC , 3; Mendez and Quastel , 10). In some cases, they may give price concessions in return for services rendered, an arrangement documented for Montreal in the 1970s (Krohn et al ; Goodbrand , 100, 101, 149).…”

Linkages between the formal and informal sectors in a Canadian housing market: Vancouver and its secondary suite rentals

“…Secondary suites in Vancouver are legally required to comply with various local land use regulations, building code standards, and licensing rules. The ability to have a legal suite in one's home is a relatively new development, following a set of local regulatory changes that were adopted in 2004 after many years of local government attempts to find a way of regularizing the existence of this type of housing (see Mendez and Quastel for a history of these changes). New zoning by‐laws now permit secondary suites to be built in all areas of the city, but there is a limit of one secondary suite per detached house (starting in 2009, this includes the ability to legally build detached secondary suites at the back of a lot zoned for single family dwellings) (City of Vancouver ).…”

Relatives or rentals? Secondary suites through a multigenerational family lens

“…The literature on secondary suites has not kept pace with their proliferation, and particularly their use for purposes other than that of rentals on an open market. Understanding the context of the law and market is critical to the study of secondary suites, and important work has been done in the Canadian context (Tanasescu ; Tanasescu et al ; Mendez , 2016; Mendez and Quastel ). The general notion is that illegal suites exist because there is a demand for rental housing, and enforcement is lenient because of need.…”