Halifax land-use by-law: backyard suites, tiny homes and bunkies

Backyard suite

A separate home in the yard of a house: garden suite, laneway suite or coach house, including prefab, modular or container units used this way.

Allowed · Halifax’s term: “backyard suite”

Backyard suites are a permitted use in the Regional Centre and in the suburban and rural land use by-laws, accessory to low-density homes, with one per lot and the same siting rules as accessory buildings. In the Regional Centre the suite must be in the rear yard and new accessory structures in residential zones are capped at a 60 m² footprint and 93 m² floor area; the suburban and rural by-laws cap the suite at 93 m² (1,000 sq ft) gross floor area. [1][2][3]

Maximum size: Regional Centre: new accessory structure footprint max 60.0 m² and floor area max 93.0 m² in the DD, DH, CEN, COR, HR, ER and CH zones (s. 333) [4]
Maximum size: Suburban/rural LUBs (e.g. Beaver Bank, Hammonds Plains and Upper Sackville; Halifax Mainland): gross floor area max 1,000 sq ft (93 m²) [5]
Maximum height: Regional Centre: 7.7 m for accessory structures (s. 331); Beaver Bank, Hammonds Plains and Upper Sackville: 25 ft (7.7 m) for accessory buildings in R-1 and R-2 zones [4]
Setbacks: Regional Centre: min 1.25 m from side and rear lot lines; in ER and CH zones not closer to a streetline than the main building (ss. 328-329) [4]
Separation from house: Regional Centre: min 1.25 m from the main building (s. 330); Beaver Bank, Hammonds Plains and Upper Sackville: min 8 ft (2.4 m) from a dwelling unit [4]
Number allowed: One backyard suite per lot; in the Regional Centre, in the rear yard only (s. 56(1)) [4]
Where allowed: Regional Centre: with a single-unit, semi-detached, two-, three- or four-unit, townhouse, duplex apartment or small shared housing use, where Tables 1A-1D permit it (including the ER-1, ER-2 and ER-3 zones). Suburban/rural LUBs: accessory to a single unit dwelling, mobile dwelling, two unit dwelling or a three-unit dwelling [4]
Parking: Suburban/rural LUBs: no additional off-street parking required [5]
Approvals: Building permit (applied for as a residential building permit); a water permit inside the wastewater boundary, and a lot grading permit for a new building [6]

Nova Scotia-wide rule

Outside Halifax, no Nova Scotia regulation requires municipalities to allow backyard suites or a set number of units per lot. Each municipality decides this in its land-use by-law. Province-wide, the Building Code applies to the suite, and a new on-site sewage system needs provincial notification or approval. [7][8][9][10][11][12]

Tiny home on a foundation

A small house as the main home on its own lot. The key rule is any minimum dwelling size.

Allowed · Halifax’s term: “single-unit dwelling”

The Regional Centre by-law sets no minimum dwelling floor area or width, and the Halifax Mainland minimum living-space rule for single detached dwellings was repealed in 2022. Mobile homes and mini homes count as single-unit dwellings in the Regional Centre and suburban/rural by-laws, so they are allowed wherever a single-unit dwelling is. [3]

Minimum dwelling size: None found in the Regional Centre LUB; Halifax Mainland s. 21(d) repealed (RC-Oct 11/22; E-Nov 16/22) [2]
Mini homes: Regional Centre: a single-unit dwelling use includes a mobile home use (definition 234) [4]
Mini homes: Suburban/rural LUBs: a single unit dwelling includes a mobile dwelling, defined to include mobile homes and modular dwellings with main walls less than 20 ft (6.1 m) wide [5]

Nova Scotia-wide rule

Nova Scotia sets no provincial minimum house size. Since April 1, 2025, the Building Code Regulations define a "tiny house" as a dwelling unit of 37 m² or less in building area and give it its own rules on ceiling heights and lofts. Certified factory-built homes are deemed to meet the Code. Municipal planning documents must provide for manufactured housing. [7][10][8][13]

Tiny home on wheels or park model

Living full-time in a tiny home on wheels or a park model home.

Allowed with limits · Halifax’s term: “mobile home / recreational vehicle”

A mobile home built for transport on its own chassis counts as a single-unit dwelling, but the Regional Centre by-law says a recreational vehicle shall not be used as a dwelling unit or backyard suite except as a temporary construction use. The suburban and rural by-laws likewise bar motor homes and camper trailers from being used for human habitation. [3]

Where allowed: Regional Centre s. 42: excluding a temporary construction use, a recreational vehicle shall not be used as a dwelling unit or a backyard suite use; a mobile home use (excluding recreational vehicles) is included in single-unit dwelling use [4]
Where allowed: Suburban/rural LUBs (Vehicle Bodies): no truck, bus, coach, motor home, camper trailer or streetcar body shall be used for human habitation; mobile dwellings on their own wheels are single unit dwellings [5]

Nova Scotia-wide rule

The province's Building Code guidance says tiny homes on a permanent trailer chassis with wheels are outside the scope of the Nova Scotia Building Code Regulations. Whether you may live in one full-time is decided by the municipal land-use by-law. CSA Z240 manufactured (mini) homes are covered by the Building Code, and municipal plans must provide for manufactured housing. [13][10][8][9]

Bunkie or sleeping cabin

A small sleeping building with no kitchen, usually beside a cottage or house.

Not allowed · Halifax’s term: “accessory building”

Every suburban and rural land use by-law checked says accessory buildings shall not be used for human habitation unless a dwelling is a permitted accessory use, so a sleeping building would have to meet the backyard suite rules as a full dwelling unit. The Regional Centre by-law, which has no rural zones, does not address sleeping in accessory structures. [5][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Where allowed: Accessory buildings shall not be used for human habitation except where a dwelling is a permitted accessory use: Planning Districts 14 and 17 s. 4.11(a)(i), Beaver Bank/Hammonds Plains/Upper Sackville s. 4.12(a)(i), Eastern Shore (West) s. 4.12(a)(i), Eastern Shore (East) s. 4.12(a)(i), Musquodoboit Valley/Dutch Settlement s. 4.12(a)(i), Planning District 4 (Prospect) s. 4.12(a)(i), Planning Districts 1 and 3 (St. Margarets Bay) s. 4.13(a)(i), Planning Districts 8 and 9 s. 4.12(a)(i), Sackville s. 4.11(a)(i) and Timberlea/Lakeside/Beechville s. 4.13(a)(i) [3]
Kitchen: Planning Districts 14 and 17 s. 2.36B defines human habitation as occupying a structure as a dwelling or sleeping place, whether intermittently or as a residence, so the rule applies to a sleeping cabin without a kitchen [3]

Nova Scotia-wide rule

Unless a municipal by-law says otherwise, Nova Scotia does not require a building permit for an accessory building of 20 m² or less, but the Building Code still applies to it. Adding a washroom brings in the on-site sewage rules, unless the building connects to a municipal sewer. [10][11][22]

Official links

Last confirmed October 2026.

Notes and caveats

Read the Regional Centre LUB (amendments in effect to 2026-07-30), Halifax Mainland LUB (to 2026-08-27), Beaver Bank/Hammonds Plains/Upper Sackville LUB (to 2026-08-24) and Planning Districts 14 and 17 LUB (to 2026-10-06) via curl; the other plan-area LUBs carry the same 2020/2024 backyard suite amendments per HRM's develop-your-property page. That page still states a 90 m² backyard suite maximum, while the by-laws read (amended May 2024) set 93 m². For the bunkie answer, the accessory building clause was also read in the Eastern Shore (West), Eastern Shore (East), Musquodoboit Valley/Dutch Settlement, Planning District 4, Planning Districts 1 and 3, Planning Districts 8 and 9, Sackville and Timberlea/Lakeside/Beechville LUBs (all with amendments to 2026-02-02), and all use the same wording; only the Planning Districts 14 and 17 by-law was found to define human habitation to include a sleeping place. Halifax Mainland and the Regional Centre have no human habitation clause for accessory buildings. The Regional Centre permitted-use tables use black-dot glyphs that did not extract, so the zone list for backyard suites is partial. The proposed Suburban Plan would replace eleven suburban LUBs with one (not yet approved). Peggys Cove (provincial commission LUB) not reviewed.

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Halifax land-use by-law for backyard suites, tiny homes and bunkies

Backyard suite

Nova Scotia-wide rule

Tiny home on a foundation

Nova Scotia-wide rule

Tiny home on wheels or park model

Nova Scotia-wide rule

Bunkie or sleeping cabin

Nova Scotia-wide rule

Official links

Sources

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