BCAB 1970 - Application of defined terms dwelling unit and suite

Application of defined terms dwelling unit and suite

Project Description

The project is the design and construction of a new three-storey house which will be operated by the owner as long-term rental housing.  The house is specifically designed to attract a household of seven mature individual tenants of similar age and interests.

The house contains common areas including a great room for cooking, dining, and living, as well as laundry, storage, and exercise spaces; the residents will have unrestricted access throughout the building and grounds.

The house also contains seven bedrooms/private spaces.  Each private space includes an ensuite bathroom, closet, and room for a bed and a chair or desk.  No facilities are provided for refrigeration, food preparation, or eating, and cooking is not permitted within the bedroom suites.  The bedrooms/private spaces are specifically designed not to function as self-contained dwellings; the emphasis is on social engagement and connection as best occurs in the common spaces.

Prospective tenants will engage in the owner/operator’s application process, be vetted by any current residents, and sign a shared living rental agreement with the owner/operator.

Applicable Code requirements (BCBC 2024)

Sentence 1.4.1.2.(1), Division A, Defined Terms

Dwelling unit means a suite operated as a housekeeping unit, used or intended to be used by one or more persons and usually containing cooking, eating, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities.

Suite means a single room or series of rooms of complementary use, operated under a single tenancy, and includes dwelling units, individual guest rooms in motels, hotels, boarding houses, rooming houses and dormitories as well as individual stores and individual or complementary rooms for business and personal services occupancies. (See Note A-1.4.1.2.(1).)

Note A-1.4.1.2.(1), Division A, Defined Terms

Suite (excerpt)

Tenancy in the context of the term “suite” applies to both rental and ownership tenure.  In a condominium arrangement, for example, dwelling units are considered separate suites even though they are individually owned.  In order to be of complementary use, a series of rooms that constitute a suite must be in reasonably close proximity to each other and have access to each other either directly by means of a common doorway or indirectly by a corridor, vestibule or other similar arrangement.

The term “suite” does not apply to rooms such as service rooms, common laundry rooms and common recreational rooms that are not leased or under a separate tenure in the context of the Code.  Similarly, the term “suite” is not normally applied in the context of buildings such as schools and hospitals, since the entire building is under a single tenure.  However, a room that is individually rented is considered a suite.  A warehousing unit in a mini-warehouse is a suite.  A rented room in a nursing home could be considered as a suite if the room was under a separate tenure.  A hospital bedroom on the other hand is not considered to be under a separate tenure, since the patient has little control of that space, even though he pays the hospital a per diem rate for the privilege of using the hospital facilities, which include the sleeping areas . . .

Decision being appealed (Local Authority’s position)

The seven bedrooms/private spaces meet the Code’s definition of “suites” as well as the definition of “dwelling units”.  The building, as it relates to life safety, is a multi-suite residential building.

Appellant's position

The house is a single dwelling unit.  The building has been designed and will operate under a single tenancy; the tenants will function as a single housekeeping unit and share the entire house.

The house includes all the facilities that are required to function as a household unit.  These facilities include, but are not limited to, the kitchen, dining area, living room, laundry facilities, garage/storage space, exterior patios, all yard spaces and separate bedrooms for each tenant. The tenants will have unrestricted access to the common facilities as one would expect in a single tenancy.

As with any tenancy, the individual tenants are responsible for paying the rent to the property manager.

Appeal Board Decision #1970

The Board varies the decision of the local authority.

It is the determination of the Board that the bedroom/private spaces are not dwelling units.  The bedroom/private spaces are suites as defined by the Code.

Reason for decision

The bedroom/private spaces are not dwelling units because the occupants are dependent on the facilities contained elsewhere within the building.

The bedroom/private spaces are suites because the defined term “suite” means a single room or series of rooms of complementary use, operated under a single tenancy such as found in boarding houses, rooming houses, and dormitories.

In this case, each bedroom/private space is a room or series of rooms of complementary use (i.e., a bedroom and a bathroom) and each bedroom/private space is under separate tenure, having a tenancy agreement between an individual and the building owner.

Don Pedde
Chair, Building Code Appeal Board

Dated:  June 19, 2025