Georgian Bay zoning for small homes

Township of Georgian Bay, in the District Municipality of Muskoka. Population 3,441 (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 · Georgian Bay’s term: “secondary dwelling unit (additional residential unit under By-law 2026-078)”

Under the August 2025 consolidation now in force, a secondary unit in an accessory building is allowed only in the rear yard, on R1–R5 and RM1 lots of at least 1 ha or RU lots of at least 1.2 ha, and not on lots with water frontage. By-law 2026-078, enacted 8 October 2026 but not yet in effect, will replace this with additional residential unit rules for Urban Centres, Honey Harbour and Rural (RU) lands, still excluding the Shoreline Residential zones. [1][2]

Minimum lot size: Accessory-building secondary units: at least 1 ha in R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 and RM1 zones; at least 1.2 ha in other zones where permitted (Section 4.25 b) [3]
Where allowed: R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, RM1 and RU zones; accessory building must be in the rear yard and meet principal-building yard requirements; not permitted on a lot with frontage on a waterbody; no accessory dwelling unit in Shoreline Residential (SR/SRI) zones (Sections 4.25, 4.4 c) [3]
Maximum size: Secondary unit gross floor area may not exceed 40% of the primary dwelling unit's gross floor area (Section 4.25 a iii) [3]
Number allowed: One secondary dwelling per lot (Section 4.25 a i) [3]
Parking: One additional dedicated space (Section 4.25 a iv) [3]
Approvals: Pending By-law 2026-078 (enacted 8 Oct 2026; not in effect until the appeal period ends 29 Oct 2026 and the District approves Official Plan Amendment 32): up to 2 ARUs on residential lands in the MacTier and Port Severn Urban Centres, Honey Harbour, and Rural (RU) lands with public road frontage; 1 may be detached; detached ARU max height 5 m, max GFA 75% of the principal dwelling or 112 m², whichever is less; 4 m from the principal dwelling; none in SR/SRI zones or on Honey Harbour lots fronting Georgian Bay [4]

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. [5][6][7]

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 · Georgian Bay’s term: “detached dwelling”

The residential zone requirements in Table 8.2 and the shoreline zone provisions set no minimum dwelling floor area. Shoreline Residential zones instead cap dwelling gross floor area by lot size.

Minimum dwelling size: No minimum dwelling floor area found in the zone requirement tables (Table 8.2 and others); Sections 6.4.1 and 7.4.1 set maximum dwelling gross floor areas in shoreline zones [3]

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. [5][8][9][10][11][12][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 · Georgian Bay’s term: “mobile home dwelling / travel trailer”

'Dwelling, Mobile Home' (CSA Z240 or Z241, which covers park model trailers) is a permitted use only in the Residential Mobile Home (RMH) zone. Using travel trailers, truck campers or tent trailers is prohibited in all zones except where the by-law permits it. New trailer parks and mobile home parks are prohibited unless specifically permitted, and the by-law has no garden suite provision.

Where allowed: Table 8.1: Dwelling, Mobile Home – RMH zone only (RMH minimum lot 2.0 ha; 1,000 m² minimum site within a mobile home park) [3]
Approvals: Section 4.38 b): use of travel trailers, truck campers or tent trailers is prohibited in all zones except where permitted; Section 4.3: a travel trailer is allowed only while construction under a building permit is under way, for at most 18 months [3]

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. [13][8][5][10][9]

Bunkie or sleeping cabin

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

Allowed with limits · Georgian Bay’s term: “sleeping cabin”

Sleeping cabins are permitted in all Shoreline Residential (SR) and Shoreline Residential Island (SRI) zones on lots of at least 0.3 ha. Size, height and number limits apply. They may have a washroom but no kitchen or cooking facilities.

Where allowed: All SR and SRI zones (Section 4.1.14) [3]
Minimum lot size: None permitted on lots under 0.3 ha (Section 4.1.14 a) [3]
Number allowed: 1 on lots 0.3–1.0 ha; up to 2 on lots over 1.0 ha (Section 4.1.14 b–c) [3]
Maximum size: 56 m² gross floor area (Section 4.1.14 d) [3]
Maximum height: 4.5 m, or 4.0 m in the Cognashene, Wah Wah Taysee and Go Home Bay Coastal Waterfront Communities; one storey; no loft, basement or cellar (Section 4.1.14 h–j) [3]
Kitchen: No kitchen or cooking facilities; washroom facilities permitted (Sections 4.1.14 e, 4.1.18) [3]
Setbacks: Must meet the principal-use front yard setback and accessory-structure setbacks for other yards; at least 30.0 m from the front lot line in SR4 and SRI4 zones (Section 4.1.14 f–g) [3]

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. [10][8][5][14]

Official links

Last confirmed October 2026.

Notes and caveats

The consolidation is dated August 2025. By-law 2026-078 (Z26-06), on additional residential units, source water protection and housekeeping, was passed 6 Oct 2026 and enacted 8 Oct 2026. It is not in force until the appeal period ends (29 Oct 2026) and the District of Muskoka approves OPA 32 (By-law 2026-077). Its ARU rules are given under the backyard_suite 'Approvals' fact. Some text in that by-law's PDF is image-only; items 4.8 a), h) and i) were read from the page images. Some site-specific lands remain under Zoning By-law 91-19 as amended (Appendices to 2014-75); those were not reviewed. Many shoreline exception zones have site-specific sleeping cabin limits.

Sources

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