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VANCOUVER (CP)--Municipalities cannot allow in-law suites while banning rental suites in single-family homes, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled recently. Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg ruled Delta's bylaw, which permits rental suites in single-family homes only if the tenant is related to the landlord, discriminates against Rosebelle and Michael McDonald and their tenant. She struck down that section of the bylaw, meaning nobody in suburban Delta may legally occupy a secondary suite. But Paul Clairmont of the Tenants Rights Action Coalition called the ruling a victory for the McDonalds and their tenant. They've had to put up with years of unfair treatment," he said. "Delta didn't enforce the bylaw equally." Clairmont said the ruling will confront municipalities with the need to legalize secondary suites everywhere. Koenigsberg said the Municipal Act does not specifically give councils the power to discriminate on the basis of family status. The McDonalds were unavailable for comment, but Delta Mayor Beth Johnson said the bylaw will be reviewed. A total of 277 in-law suites now are illegal in Delta, but Johnson said Delta will not start mass evictions. We have the final word on whether we enforce our own bylaw," she said. "I've never heard of anybody arguing with in-law suites." Koenigsberg's judgment may set a precedent for legal challenges to the patchwork of residential-suite bylaws used by 108 of British Columbia's 150 local governments. Forty-two municipalities ban secondary suites altogether.