Addington Highlands zoning for small homes

Township of Addington Highlands, in the County of Lennox and Addington. Population 2,534 (2021 census).

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 with limits · Addington Highlands’s term: “secondary unit (in an ancillary building or coach house)”

One secondary unit per lot is permitted in the RU, RR, RLS and HR zones, either in the house or in an ancillary building on the lot, subject to size limits, year-round public road access, adequate water and septic capacity, and location outside natural hazards. [1]

Where allowed: RU, RR, RLS and HR zones [2]
Number allowed: Maximum one secondary unit per lot [2]
Maximum size: 45% of the dwelling unit or 100 m², whichever is less (gross floor area) [2]
Setbacks: An ancillary building containing a secondary unit must meet the same location-on-lot provisions as the principal residential building; not permitted in a boathouse [2]
Parking: Minimum 1 space per secondary unit; tandem parking permitted [2]
Servicing: Must be directly serviced by a year-round publicly maintained road and demonstrate adequate potable water and septic capacity [2]

Ontario-wide rule

Ontario law stops municipalities from banning one residential unit in a building ancillary to a detached house, semi-detached house or rowhouse on a parcel of urban residential land, as long as the lot has no more than three units in total. Municipalities still set most other zoning rules, but provincial law limits parking requirements, minimum unit size, lot coverage and separation distances. These units are also exempt from development charges and parkland dedication. [3][4][5]

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 with limits · Addington Highlands’s term: “single unit dwelling”

The Rural, Rural Residential and Hamlet Residential zones require a minimum dwelling unit area of 80 m²; the Residential Limited Service zone requires 50 m².

Minimum dwelling size: 80 m² dwelling unit area in RU, RR and HR zones; 50 m² in RLS zone [1]

Ontario-wide rule

Ontario law sets no minimum total size for a house that is the main dwelling. The Building Code sets minimum room areas, so the smallest compliant dwelling is roughly 17.5 m² by the Province's own estimate. Municipalities may still set minimum floor areas for main dwellings in their zoning by-laws. The provincial ban on minimum sizes covers only additional residential units. [3][6][7][8][9][10][11]

Tiny home on wheels or park model

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

Not allowed · Addington Highlands’s term: “trailer / mobile home / recreational vehicle”

The definitions of dwelling and dwelling unit exclude trailers, motor homes and mobile homes, and no zone permits mobile homes or a mobile home park; trailer parks in the Recreation Commercial zone are for seasonal occupancy only. The by-law has no garden suite provisions.

Where allowed: Trailer parks (C3 zone) are defined as designed and used for seasonal occupancy only [1]
Approvals: 'Dwelling' shall not include a trailer, motor home, or mobile home (s. 2.63) [1]

Ontario-wide rule

Ontario has no single rule for living full-time in a tiny home on wheels. A unit on wheels can count as a 'building' that needs a permit and must meet the Building Code once it stays in one place, is hooked up to services or is anchored. Park model trailers are recognized only as seasonal recreational buildings. Municipalities may allow a portable garden suite under a temporary-use by-law for up to 20 years, with extensions of up to 3 years each. [11][6][3][8][7]

Bunkie or sleeping cabin

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

Allowed with limits · Addington Highlands’s term: “guest cabin”

One guest cabin (sleeping quarters, no kitchen) is permitted as an accessory use in the Residential Limited Service (RLS) zone; other zones do not list it and accessory buildings may not be used for human habitation unless specifically permitted.

Where allowed: Residential Limited Service (RLS) zone [1]
Number allowed: One guest cabin [1]
Maximum size: 20 m² [1]
Setbacks: No closer to the front lot line than the main dwelling and no closer than 30 m to the front lot line [1]
Maximum height: Accessory buildings: 4.5 m in HR, RR and RLS zones; 7 m in RU zone [12]
Kitchen: No kitchen facilities (definition of guest cabin); sanitary facilities need approval from the appropriate approval authority [1]

Ontario-wide rule

Ontario law has no rule written specifically for bunkies or sleeping cabins. Whether one needs a building permit depends on the Building Code Act's definition of 'building' and the Code's shed exemption. That exemption covers only storage-use sheds, so it does not cover a structure used for sleeping. Municipal zoning rules for accessory buildings still apply. [8][6][3][13]

Official links

Last confirmed October 2026.

Notes and caveats

No office consolidation exists online. Researched the 2006 by-law (PDF created 2007) with the two Township-wide amendments that the Township's own zoning folder posts (By-law 0310/2010 housekeeping, incl. accessory heights and sleep-cabin servicing exemption; By-law 0497/2017 secondary units) applied by hand. By-law 0496/2017 (lake trout lakes) also posted but not relevant here. Site-specific amendments and any later Township-wide amendment not posted could not be checked; no ARU amendment after 2017 was found. Amendment PDFs are scanned with OCR text.

Sources

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