[Selanne_200]

As a home owner with a illegal suite before and got checked by the city because of a complaint (which is stupid because tenants were quite, they only parked in front of my house, never party, no noise), the cost of taking out the kitchen is quite costly. You have to cut the range wire back i believe 6 inches into the wall, breaker for the stove taken out and a dummy breaker put in, your kitchen sink's waterline would have to be cut off, plumbing taking out and capped and sealed, hood fan taken out etc. Not to mention, some of the work requires a city permit so you can't even do it yourself.
Yes you have to pay higher property tax for a legal secondary suite, but as others mention, there are benefits to it, be glad that city of vancouver actually allows a secondary suite, you can't have one in burnaby to rent out even if you're willing to pay.