Second suites are legal across most of Toronto now, and a basement apartment is one of the best ways to add income or house family. We get called on a lot of these in areas like Davisville and Leaside. The electrical side is often bigger than owners expect, so here is what actually goes into it.

First question: can your service handle a second household?

A basement suite is a whole extra kitchen, its own heating and cooling, laundry, and a full set of circuits. On an older 100 amp service that is already feeding the main house, that can be tight.

So the first thing we do is a load calculation on your existing service. If the numbers do not leave room, you are looking at a service upgrade to 200 amps before anything else goes in. It is the same math we run before an EV charger, just with more load on the table.

Safety systems the code requires

A legal suite is not just extra outlets. The Ontario Electrical Safety Code and the fire code require:

  • Interconnected smoke alarms in both units, so an alarm in the basement sounds upstairs too.
  • Carbon monoxide alarms near sleeping areas and fuel-burning appliances.
  • GFCI protection in the kitchen, bathroom and any outdoor or unfinished areas.
  • AFCI protection on the circuits the code calls for.
  • Proper egress lighting so the exit stays lit if power to one part fails.

These are the details a rushed or unpermitted basement job tends to skip, and they are exactly what an inspector and an insurer look for.

Dedicated circuits and layout

A proper suite gets its own set of circuits: the kitchen counter receptacles, the range, the fridge, laundry, and heating each sized correctly rather than piggybacked onto whatever was closest. Some owners also ask about separate metering so a tenant can be billed directly. That is possible and we can lay it out, though it adds cost and utility coordination.

Permit and ESA sign-off are not optional

Every part of this needs an electrical permit and an ESA inspection. For a rental suite that paperwork protects you twice over: it keeps the unit insurable, and it protects you as a landlord if anything ever happens. If you want the background on when permits apply, we cover it in this guide.

Plan the electrical early

The most expensive basement suites are the ones where the electrical was an afterthought and walls had to come back down. If you are planning one, bring us in during the design, not after the framing is up.

Get a free quote and we will size the service and map out the circuits before the drywall goes on.