For best results with your tiny home project, we highly recommend you:

  • contact your local municipality early in your planning and design process
  • hire qualified professionals to help you

You can generally find a contact number for your local building and planning departments on your municipality’s website. You can also find information online or at your local municipal offices.

You can find Ontario’s Building Code online. You should also check out the following land use planning resources:

Tiny home checklist

Here is a checklist summarizing the important things to consider when planning and building your tiny home:

  • Building permits
  • Site inspection
  • Tarion warranty
  • Municipal zoning and other by-laws
    • Permitted land uses
    • Minimum lot sizes
    • Minimum size for residential buildings
    • Minimum or maximum lot coverage by built structures
    • Lot frontage, setback and egress requirements from lot line and public street
    • Massing and height requirements
    • Parking requirements
    • Streetscape and architectural design
    • Exits and entrances
    • Servicing: municipal or private (water, sewage, electricity, etc.)
    • Development in existing settlement areas
    • Waterfront development
    • Restrictions on lot severance
    • Development charges
  • Ontario's Building Code (built on-site)
    • Rooms and floor sizes
    • Stairs, guards and handrails
    • Mezzanines
    • Ceiling heights
    • Hallway widths
    • Door width requirements
    • Windows
    • Plumbing
    • Energy efficiency
    • Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning
    • Electrical facilities and lighting
    • Foundation, anchorage and grading
    • Fire safety
    • Emergency access
    • Exiting
    • Smoke alarm
    • Carbon monoxide alarm
  • Ontario's Building Code (factory-built)
    • CSA-Z240.2.1-09 Structural Requirements for Manufactured Homes
    • CSA-A277-08 Procedure for Factory Certification of Buildings

Acknowledgements: The ministry would like to thank the following groups for sharing their images.

  • Cover illustration: Doug Tarry Limited, Builders and Developers, St. Thomas, Ontario
  • Images 1, 5, 7, 11: Cornerstone Youth Landing Services, Lanark County, Ontario, Redwood Home 1000 Islands Ltd., Athens, Ontario and Algonquin College Perth Campus, Ontario
  • Image 3: Container House Ontario