While lamenting a lack of storage in our circa-1976 townhouse to a neighbour, she pointed out her suite had a great deal—that is, if you include the dirt basement hidden beneath a trap door in the crawlspace under the stairs. So one Sunday, while trying our hands at wallpapering (that’s another story!) in a brave moment I dug out the Christmas decor, my husband’s comic books and boxes of our respective writing clippings and—with apprehension—took a gander, flashlight in hand.

Luckily there was no one below running a sewing machine and sizing me up for a suit. Instead, low and behold, there was enough room below to house a luxury bomb shelter. State of the art. That is, if you can figure out a way to access it, and ignore the creepiness of it all. Dropping down about ten feet and rivaling our master bedroom’s size, you wonder what the intended purpose is for the dirt space covered in a layer of poly. A doggie play den? Underground tunnels linking all the homes in the complex?

It got me to thinking of all kinds of uses for the secret space. Sure, storage for all those stacks of belongings that have survived move after move between my husband and I, but also countless others. You want to have the guys over for poker? Sure, Honey. I will clear you a path. Your ne’er-do-well ex-roommate from college needs a place to crash until he “finds himself?” Sure, we have the room.

Unearthing the secret compartment also got me to thinking about its real purpose. Turns out it’s a cheaper way of building than an actual basement, and its height and openness allows easy access to things like plumbing without having to knock holes in walls. That’s good news for the wallpaper. It’s also the location of the elusive water shut-off that will surely come in handy when we gut the bathroom in what my husband fondly dubs Phase Two. (No word when Phase Two begins, but let’s just say Phase One is now a year in.)

So who is responsible for the crawlspace in a condominium? I know everything inside our unit is technically ours, but what about the grey area under our unit? Obviously a lack of windows limits it as a bedroom, but what other regulations govern the space?

“There are no surprises here at all,” says Gerald Rotering, a Calgary condominium-specialist realtor. “I always say you own it all, paint to paint when it comes to condominiums. Anything beyond that is common property. ”

So that means, when it comes to crawlspaces, it’s the condo corporation—my husband and I and the other owners—who shoulder responsibility. Guess that confirms my husband’s buddy won’t be moving in anytime soon. How about storage?

Rotering says while it’s important to remember the space is part of the corporation, you’re not likely to find members of the board scurrying around under the stairs. What might be scurrying are bugs or animals, especially if the poly has been perforated. He advises keeping the barrier in tact and access easy in the event the space needs to be entered (think: water leak), but says it’s quite common for condo owners to use the room for storage, even putting up walls to protect prized possessions. “Keep in mind you mustn’t create any fire hazards, though,” he notes.

The good news is, since the newfound space isn’t our responsibility, should we spot any damage down there (such as water leaks or crumbling posts), it’s the responsibility of the condo corporation to fix it, and not solely weighing on my husband’s and my pocketbook.

Now if I can just figure out how to get a hot tub down the hatch. CL