Secondary Suites and Rooming Houses
A secondary suite is a self-contained apartment with a private kitchen, bathroom and bedroom within a house. It can have its own private entrance or through a common area. You can have one secondary suite per dwelling unit (house) with a maximum of two bedrooms.
Secondary suites provide benefits such as:
- Housing for aging family members, adult children, caregivers, etc.
- Increased amount of rental housing available in our City
- More affordable mortgage payments for homeowners
- Good use of infrastructure and housing stock
Constructing a new secondary suite
You need to get a building permit to construct and recognize a secondary suite. The suite has to pass all required inspections associated with the building permit and it needs an Electrical Safety Authority inspection.
Permitted uses |
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Subject to compliance with Zoning By-law 1997-123, new secondary suites are permitted:
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Zoning By-law eligibility criteria |
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Size of secondary suites |
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Additional zoning regulations for secondary suites located in detached accessory buildings |
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Cumulative lot coverage of all accessory buildings (e.g. secondary suite, sheds and detached garages) plus coverage of the Principal Dwelling must comply with the overall lot coverage regulation of the applicable Residential Zoning District |
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Fire department access to secondary suites |
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Parking requirements |
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Minimum size of parking space
Parking areas map
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Legalizing an existing suite built after November 16, 1995
To legalize a secondary suite built after November 16, 1995 you need the following:
- The lot and suite must comply with Zoning By-law requirements
- Have a building permit to recognize the existing construction
- The suite muse pass all required inspections associated with the building permit and an inspection by the Electrical Safety Authority
Legalizing a suite that existed as of November 16, 1995
Suites that existed as of November 16, 1995 may be exempted from having to comply with the City's Zoning By-law regulations.
You must show the Building Division that they suite existed on November 16, 1995 by providing:
- a declaration from a person personal knowledge of the property declaring that the house was used or occupied as two residential units on November 16, 1995
- printed documentation establishing the suite's existence as of November 16, 1995
- Documentation certifying the suite's compliance with the Ontario Fire Code and the Ontario Electrical Safety Code.
Lodging houses
A lodging house is a dwelling that has 5 – 30 bedrooms and is not a single house-keeping unit. A single house-keeping unit is a dwelling where the occupants live together for a short period of time and for economic reasons.
There are two types of lodging houses:
- Small lodging house: a dwelling that contains between 5 and 10 bedrooms
- Large dwelling house: a dwelling that contains between 11 and 30 bedrooms
Both types of lodging houses need to follow the proper zoning compliance and the property owners need to receive a Business Licence from the Clerk's Office in order to rent out the bedrooms, as per By-law 17-067.