The two can look identical from the street, and only a permit search actually tells them apart. A beautifully finished basement built without City of Saskatoon sign-off still fails a lender's test for legal secondary income, no matter how long it has been rented out.
The City of Saskatoon's zoning bylaw also caps density on most residential lots at up to four units, and even within that cap, most lenders and appraisers still price the property on comparable sales with a rent adjustment rather than treating it as a pure income property, so the suite adds value but does not turn the house into a different asset class.
Joel Dyck confirms a Westmount suite's permit status before pricing it, and a buyer's own inspection, typically $400 to $600, is worth budgeting on the suite specifically. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.