BCAB 1993 - Application of defined term suite related to a dwelling unit

Application of defined term suite related to a dwelling unit

Project Description

The project is the design and construction of a Part 9 residential, sprinklered, building consisting of four separate 3-storey dwelling units in a side-by-side configuration.  The dwellings utilize a common egress facility and each dwelling is separated from adjacent dwellings by a vertical fire separation having a 1-hour fire-resistance rating.

The building will be operated by the building owner as long-term rental housing with each dwelling being occupied under a lease between the building owner and a single leaseholder.  The owner will arrange four leases in the building and each leaseholder will be responsible to the owner for payment.

Each dwelling contains common areas including a great room for cooking, dining, and living, as well as laundry and storage spaces and a garage.

Dwellings A, B, and C each contain seven bedrooms/private spaces.  Each bedroom/private space includes an ensuite bathroom and a closet.

Dwelling D contains five bedrooms.  Two of the bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms, the other three bedrooms share a single bathroom.

On-site parking is provided for 26 vehicles, not including the spaces provided within the garages.  (Some of the on-site parking spaces are presumably provided for an existing dwelling on the property which does not form part of this appeal.)

Applicable Code requirements (BCBC 2024)

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

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)

Each dwelling unit contains multiple suites.

The dwelling units do not appear to be designed to function like single units.  Occupants of the dwellings will usually move into and out of the building as individuals or couples, not as a group.

Despite a lease agreement between the owner and an individual, the use of each dwelling unit in the building will usually be for multiple tenancies, with each dwelling unit therefore containing multiple suites.

Occupants will be responsible for payment of rent.  Whether these responsibilities function through sub-leases between each occupant and the single leaseholder, or as separate leases between each occupant and the building owner, there are still multiple separate tenancies.  The Code, and its life-safety provisions, are based on the intended use.  The particulars of a lease agreement do not change the safety factor.

Appellant's position

The building consists of four suites, each having multiple bedrooms and functioning as a dwelling unit.

In BCAB #1970 it was determined that if the building owner rented each bedroom/private area (i.e., a series of rooms of complementary use) within each dwelling separately (i.e., each bedroom/private area was under its own lease/tenancy) then each bedroom/private area constituted a suite.

However, to design each bedroom as a separate fire-separated suite, served by a public corridor, is not feasible in this design with shared cooking, eating, and living facilities.  Therefore, in this case, each entire multi-bedroom dwelling will be leased to a single leaseholder to meet the Code’s definition of “suite”.  Therefore, the building will consist of four suites and four separate tenancies.

The proposed arrangement is no different than any privately owned house or apartment where the house or apartment is leased under a single tenancy and the leaseholder is free to make arrangements with roommates.  The house or apartment is under the care and control of the leaseholder who is responsible to the owner for any misuse or damage.

It is common for an owner of a multi-bedroom apartment, townhouse, rowhouse, or house (dwelling unit) to lease to one individual.  That individual may either occupy the dwelling unit as a single family or may make arrangements with other individuals to occupy the dwelling unit as roommates.

Appeal Board Decision #1993

The Board varies the decision of the local authority.

It is the determination of the Board that where each dwelling unit operates under a single tenancy the building consists of four suites.

Where the “arrangements”, between the single leaseholder and each occupant, function as tenancy agreements each dwelling unit contains multiple suites.

Reason for decision

The Board considered the design of the building as well as the information provided regarding its two possible intended uses:  single family or single leaseholder with “arrangements”.

Each dwelling unit may function as a single tenancy and the Code requirements related to multiple suites within a dwelling unit do not apply.

The designs of dwellings A, B, and C are suited to multiple tenancy arrangements and if the “arrangements” between the single leaseholder and each occupant function as tenancy agreements then each unit contains multiple suites and the Code requirements for multiple suites within a dwelling unit apply.  The design of dwelling D is less suited to multiple tenancy arrangements.

The Board notes that the Ontario Building Code, 2024, contains a definition for “boarding, lodging or rooming house(s)” as well as specific provisions for those houses.  The requirements are more stringent than those for single family houses and less stringent than the BC Code requirements for multi-suite dwellings.

Don Pedde
Chair, Building Code Appeal Board 

Dated:  January 22, 2026