# Non Registered Basement Apartments

# How We Navigate Representation with Integrity and Compliance

### **How We Handle It:**

1. **Identify the Status Early**
    
    During listing or when showing a property, ask the right questions:
    
    
    - “Is the basement apartment registered with the municipality?”
    - “Can you provide documentation or permits for the second suite?”
2. **Disclosure is Key**
    
    
    - If you’re listing the property: <span class="s1">**you must disclose**</span> if the basement apartment is not legal or not registered — even if it’s currently tenanted.
    - Use language like:
        
        *“Basement apartment currently tenanted. Seller does not warrant retrofit or legal status.”*
3. **Represent, Don’t Certify**
    
    
    - You are not a building inspector or a by-law officer.
    - Don’t guess or guarantee the legal status — always encourage the buyer to verify zoning and compliance directly with the local municipality.
4. **Document Everything**
    
    
    - Add notes to your file (email confirmations, MLS remarks, status disclosure, etc.).
    - If the seller is unsure, put that in writing.
5. **Protecting Buyers**
    
    
    - Advise buyer clients to do their own due diligence.
    - Recommend speaking to a lawyer or the municipality before closing.
6. **Working with Tenanted Units**
    
    
    - If the basement is rented, understand tenant rights under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).
    - Illegal unit or not, a buyer cannot evict a tenant without proper notice or valid reason.

### **Agent Note:**

We’re not here to pass judgment or enforce the law — but we do need to <span class="s2">**represent our clients with full transparency and professional care**</span>. If we hide or ignore the legal status of a basement apartment, we’re putting our clients — and ourselves — at risk.