No Palace Like Home

The “Monster Home” debate is in the news — again. The Province recently ran an article with the rather emotive header: “Surrey’s mega-home controversy becoming culture war. Indo-Canadian-driven Surrey Ratepayers Association wants more floor space in homes.”

Cultural divide?
The story looked at the issue from two conflicting angles: the views of Fleetwood Community Association (FCA), a group of mainly Caucasian residents who want to preserve the traditional nature of their neighbourhoods, versus the Surrey Ratepayers Association (SRA), a group of 4,200, mainly South Asian residents who seem to want to build larger and larger homes. The FCA argument is that larger homes are a blot on the landscape while the SRA counter that they need larger homes to keep their families under one roof. The SRA suggests that South Asians need to have larger homes in order to keep the various generations together.

Walking the tight-rope
I can see both sides of the argument.
As a South Asian I can relate to that need for a house that would allow me to keep my family under one roof, but not at the detriment of the neighbourhood. When my family and I came to Surrey we bought a house with a basement suite. We didn’t intend to rent it out, but expected it would permanently accommodate my in-laws, who were planning to immigrate from the UK. Unfortunately, my in-laws’ 90-day stay in late 2005 coincided with some of the worst winter weather to ever hit the Lower Mainland. After 72 days of rain (we even had a three-week period when it rained 24/7!), they both decided they couldn’t wait to get back to London.
As you can see, I appreciate that multi-generational living is a reality for a number of families but I don’t think that’s the truth in the majority of cases.

Suite and sour
In my four and half years in Canada I have seen numerous houses where the owners lived in a small space upstairs and had created up to four “illegal”side and basement suites. Now if each of the four suites brings in $800 in monthly rent, that’s $3,600 each month that effectively pays off the home owners’ mortgage. I have no issue with that; we live in a very expensive city and everyone wants to get ahead. However, I do have an issue with home owners who are not contributing to their local infrastructure by paying sufficient property taxes.

Share the wealth
The people who rent the basements have the right to be educated, to use social services and healthcare facilities, etc. Now if the homeowners aren’t paying the additional property tax to help cover the renters’ needs, then the financial burden falls on people like me, and that isn’t right. Maybe landlords need to be accountable for all the additional people in their house. For example, there could be an additional property tax levied on each suite in the house that produces rental income.
At the end of the day, property tax goes a long way towards keeping the local community together and ensuring that we all benefit from the very best services available.
Before people accuse me of being an Indian-hater, let me say that people of all races are on the “make.” It’s not exclusively a South Asian issue.
When my wife and I were looking for a house, we were shown one in Newton where the owner, a Chinese man, took us to his basement. At the back of the suite he took away a false wall panel and then guided us along a very thin corridor to two illegal suites. He smiled as he told me, “These suites are hard for the police to find and bring in good free money.”

The rampaging monster!
I live in Surrey and it makes me laugh when I drive around and see homemade signs on front lawns with the words “Suite For Rent.” If I can see the signs, then why doesn’t the City?
In a Globe and Mail article with the headline “Debate rages over Surrey monster homes,” a reporter spoke with City of Surrey official Bob Bose: “Bob Bose, a city councillor, admits City Hall has ignored bylaw infraction problems for decades. He estimates there may be as many as 30,000 extra suites in the city, representing $800,000 in unpaid taxes. Last month, two councillors admitted to owning illegal secondary suites.”
$800,000 in unpaid taxes? That’s a lot of lost revenue and could pay for a few extra police officers on our streets, more medical staff in the health system or more teachers or books in our schools.

The future?
Talking purely about the City of Surrey, I think it’s time the mayor and her team created a new strategy to deal with all people with illegal suites. Maybe there’s a need to create an amnesty where landlords will be let off for past infractions. In return, they would get their suites inspected for safety compliance and start paying tax on their rental income.
There is a genuine concern that when houses are partitioned off after they have passed all official safety checks, the subsequent electrical and gas work might be below code, and no one should have to live in sub standard or dangerous accommodation.

Live and let live
All I’m saying is let’s live within the confines of the law. If we build ever greater homes and our only intention is to make as much money as possible, without giving anything back to where we live, then what contribution are we making and what lessons are we teaching our kids? p

Divinder Singh Purewal, 40, is a human resources professional in Surrey, B.C.