Burnaby homeowners who paid extra utility fees for a secondary suite could be getting that money back.
On Monday, council will vote on a proposal that would give credits to property owners who paid an additional 50 per cent in water and sewage fees this year if they do not rent out a secondary suite.
The city charged single-family homeowners a total of $1,198 for the two utilities this year and an extra $569 if they were deemed to have an extra suite. The fees were due March 15.
The supplementary fee is levied if there is a second stove in the home. This led Mayor Mike Hurley to deem it a “stove tax” during last year’s campaign, when he vowed to implement an appeal process for people who felt they were unfairly affected by the surcharge.
“If you have a summer kitchen for your family or if you have a mobility-challenged child that happens to be living in the basement and you’re trying to teach them life-skills … this is a real big challenge,” Hurley said in September, 2018.
Hurley has since changed course, opting instead to propose an exemption for all homeowners with secondary or in-law suites who do not rent out their unit.
If council approves the proposed bylaw changes, city staff will mail declaration forms to the roughly 7,000 property owners subject to the surcharge. If owners confirm that their suite is not rented or intended to be rented in 2019, the surcharge will be credited towards their next property tax bill.
“‘Rented’ in the context of this declaration would mean the owner receives rental income for use or occupancy of the suite for any period of time, whether short-term or long-term, and would include renting to family members or relatives,” says a city staff report.
Anyone who submits a false or inaccurate declaration would be charged a $1,000 penalty.
The proposed approach would only apply to 2019 because the policy change is coming into force after the March 15 deadline for utility fees, the report says.
