Straight answers to the questions we hear most from buyers and sellers across Calgary’s inner-city NW and SW, including what changed with the 2026 city rule updates.
It changes who your buyer is, not whether you have value. As of August 4, 2026, Calgary’s citywide R-CG rezoning is repealed. If your lot’s 2024 rezoning was never used for an R-CG, R-G or H-GO permit, it reverts to its old low-density district. So a 50-foot lot in Killarney or Altadore can no longer build a four-unit rowhouse by right. You would have to apply for a Land Use Redesignation again. It doesn’t erase your value, but redevelopment demand now shifts toward the legacy R-CG parcels that locked in approvals before the cutoff.
Check the party wall assembly before you write an offer. The quiet ones use one of two builds: an ICF (insulated concrete form) wall with a poured concrete core running basement to roof, or a double-stud wall with an air gap, offset studs and mineral-wool insulation. Cheaper builds skip the air gap, and that’s where the noise gets through. Ask the builder for the original wall specs. It tells you exactly what you’re buying.
As of August 4, 2026, no. Under the reverted rules it’s one or the other: a secondary basement suite or a backyard suite, not both on the same lot. Backyard suites are also no longer allowed on semi-detached homes, and the parking requirement is back. If steady rental income is the goal, look for a property that already has a legal or grandfathered suite, since building a second one from scratch is off the table.
Usually not. A busy sump pump means the weeping tile system is doing its job. Newer infills are dug deeper than the old bungalows, so the foundation often sits closer to the water table, especially near the river in Sunnyside and Hillhurst or in the clay-heavy pockets of Altadore. What matters is the backup: a battery or water-powered backup pump, so a summer storm and a power outage don’t turn into a flooded basement.
The rough rule is about 50 feet of frontage (roughly 15.24 m), which splits into two 25-foot parcels for a side-by-side. But it depends on the district your lot reverts to after the 2026 repeal, and corner lots follow different setback rules. Treat 50 feet as a starting point, not a guarantee. Before buying anything for tear-down potential, pull the actual lot plan and setbacks to confirm it works.