Carling zoning for small homes

Township of Carling, a single-tier municipality. Population 1,491 (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 · Carling’s term: “additional dwelling / garden suite”

Only one dwelling unit is permitted per lot, except that an additional detached dwelling is permitted as of right on Rural (RU) lots over 25 hectares and on large waterfront lots. Elsewhere, a garden suite needs a site-specific temporary use by-law and is limited to non-waterfront residential zones. [1]

Where allowed: As of right: an additional dwelling on RU lots greater than 25 ha; an additional detached seasonal dwelling on waterfront lots of at least 1.2 ha (WF1, WF3, WF4, WF5) or 1.6 ha (WF2) with 200 m or more frontage, 60 m separation and its own sewage system (s. 5.41) [2]
Temporary garden suite: One garden suite by site-specific temporary use by-law for up to 10 years, in non-waterfront residential zones only (s. 5.21) [2]
Minimum lot size: Garden suite: 0.6 hectares (s. 5.21) [2]
Maximum size: Garden suite: 75 m2 total floor area (s. 5.21) [2]
Maximum height: Garden suite: 6 metres, behind the front building line of the main building (s. 5.21) [2]
Number allowed: Only one dwelling unit per lot except as listed in s. 5.41; an accessory apartment is allowed only inside a converted single detached dwelling (max 120 m2, not in WF1-WF5 zones) (s. 5.11) [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 · Carling’s term: “single detached dwelling”

The Rural, Rural Residential, Bayview Residential and Waterfront Residential zones set no minimum floor area for a single detached dwelling; the only minimum floor area found (55 m2) applies to dwelling units on non-residential lots or in non-residential buildings.

Minimum dwelling size: None in the residential and rural zone provisions; 55 m2 applies only to a dwelling unit on a non-residential lot or in a non-residential building (s. 5.16(b)) [2]
Maximum height: No dwelling, including seasonal dwellings, may exceed two storeys excluding the basement (s. 5.40) [2]

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 · Carling’s term: “mobile home / travel trailer”

The by-law states that no person shall erect, locate or use any mobile home, and that travel trailers, vehicles, containers and similar structures may not be used for human habitation in any zone. The only exception is a travel trailer during construction of a dwelling for up to two years, and no new trailer park or campground sites are permitted.

Where allowed: No person shall erect, locate or use any mobile home or homes (s. 5.38) [2]
Temporary garden suite: A garden suite (defined as designed to be portable) may be permitted by temporary use by-law for up to 10 years on lots of at least 0.6 ha in non-waterfront residential zones (s. 5.21) [2]
Approvals: No travel trailer, truck, bus, coach, railway or shipping container, vessel or similar structure may be used for human habitation in any zone, except a travel trailer during construction of a dwelling for up to 2 years from building permit issuance (ss. 5.57(c), 5.58) [2]

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 · Carling’s term: “sleeping cabin”

One sleeping cabin, with no cooking facilities, is a permitted accessory use on any lot zoned for residential use, either as a stand-alone building or in the half-storey above a detached private garage. [1]

Maximum size: Minimum 10 m2; maximum 56 m2 gross floor area or the ground floor area of the principal dwelling, whichever is less (s. 4.24, s. 5.56) [2]
Number allowed: Maximum of one sleeping cabin per residential lot, including one above a detached garage (s. 5.01(g)) [2]
Kitchen: No cooking facilities (s. 4.24) [2]
Maximum height: Accessory buildings limited to one storey, except a detached private garage may be one and a half storeys where the half storey is a sleeping cabin (s. 5.01(b)) [2]
Where allowed: Any lot zoned for residential use (s. 5.56); the RU, RR, BR1 and WF zone provisions each list a maximum of 1 sleeping cabin [2]

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][12]

Official links

Last confirmed October 2026.

Notes and caveats

The first pass got empty content from www.carling.ca; it now redirects to carling.ca and the Planning and Zoning page links an office consolidation of C500-2011 dated February 28, 2025, including amendments through C553-2024. Zoning amendments passed after February 2025 (notices of passing are posted on the planning page) are site-specific notices and were not reviewed. The consolidation has no general additional residential unit provisions. Planning Act s. 35.1 protects ARUs only on parcels of urban residential land with municipal water and sewage, which most of Carling lacks. Sleeping cabin floor area does not count toward gross floor area in WF zones (s. 4.57). Some site-specific exceptions set different sleeping cabin sizes.

Sources

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