There are many aspects that qualify a secondary rental suite as either legal or illegal. For a suite to be considered legal in British Columbia, it must be both registered with the city in which it resides and meet its building permit requirements. While some landlords do rent out unauthorized or illegal suites, they run the risk of incurring lawsuits, having to return the home back to a single-family dwelling or legalize the suite if they are discovered, or having issues with their income being recognized as legitimate.