Edmonton: Cornerstone II Grant & owner-occupier requirement

[Matt Crowley]

Has anyone received a Cornerstone II Grant in the past few months in Edmonton?

I am looking at the requirements for "Eligible Applicants":

"Applicants to the Secondary Suites Program must:
- ...
- Must be the owner-occupier of the primary residence"​

Source: On page 3 (http://www.edmonton.ca/programs_services/documents/Forms/SS-A_NEW_Suites_Guide.pdf"​

I've tried on multiple occasions to get a response from the city requesting a variance / relaxation on the owner-occupier requirement. I've left messages and emails but have received no response. I have the completed Cornerstone application but I am really unsure if the owner-occupier requirement is a major sticking point for the city or whether it is more of a preference. I would appreciate hearing from someone with direct experience.

The property in question has all its building and development permits.

I've developed several legal suites in Edmonton. I want to do this by the book but I want to know if there is some way to position this to the city so that I can help increase the stock of affordable housing in the city and not upset them if I do not have this house as my primary residence.

Thanks!

 

[Sherilynn]

My understanding is they are pretty sticky about the owner occupier rule. The grant has changed substantially over the years, going from strict to relaxed and back to strict.

Initially, landlords were not accessing the grant due to the requirements and rent restrictions. Since the goal of the program was to create more safe, affordable housing and to upgrade unsafe housing, the City made several changes to the program to make it more appealing to landlords.

Slowly word got out about this fantastic program, and momentum began to build. Then the budget was quickly spent and the rules had to tighten again.

You may need to wait until they again desire to expand the program and relax the rules to accommodate landlords.

 

[Matt Crowley]

^ Thanks Sherilynn, yes that was my understanding as well.

I was able to get ahold of someone from Current Planning today to discuss the owner-occupier restriction. She said there is absolutely zero budging when it comes to new suite development. The owner must live in the home for 5 years. She said this has always been the rule since the program inception. I asked if there was an appetite at the city for relaxing that rule or changing the requirement. "Not at this time" was the answer.

However there is a different rule for homes with suites that are pre-existing but are not legal. The Cornerstone grant can be used without the owner-occupier requirement.

That's the rules at this point. She said there is still lots of money available as well.

Does anyone know about any other sources of funding? I spoke with an affordable housing rep from CMHC a couple of weeks ago but all of their funding is allocated to Alberta Seniors (upgrading a lot of derelict senior's facilities). Zero funding for affordable housing right now while everyone stresses about how important it is, although lots of finger-pointing to the "responsible" parties. I'd be interested in any other government programs that investors have utilized with some success.

Has anyone had success with any alternative sources of grant funding for development? Goal here is to develop a secondary legal suite.

Thanks