Greater Sudbury zoning for small homes

City of Greater Sudbury, a single-tier municipality. Population 166,004 (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 · Greater Sudbury’s term: “dwelling unit in an accessory building (additional dwelling unit)”

Up to two dwelling units are permitted in an accessory building in all Residential, Rural (RU) and Future Development zones, within a limit of four units per fully serviced lot or three on lots without full services. Units are not permitted on certain lakeside lots, and in Residential zones they may not take the form of a mobile home.

Maximum height: 8.0 m (s.4.2.10(f)) [1]
Separation from house: Minimum 2.4 m from the main building (s.4.2.10(b)) [1]
Setbacks: Rear and/or interior side yards only; on residential lots accessory buildings must be at least 0.6 m (2.5 m or less in height) or 1.2 m (over 2.5 m) from rear/side lot lines, 4.5 m where the rear lot line is a street over 10 m wide (Table 4.1) [1]
Maximum size: No floor area cap; on fully serviced lots, maximum 25% lot coverage including all accessory buildings and structures (s.4.2.10(e)) [1]
Number allowed: Maximum 2 dwelling units in an accessory building; up to 4 units per lot (fully serviced) or 3 (not fully serviced) [1]
Parking: 1 space per additional dwelling unit (Table 5.5); 50% reduction within 400 m of GOVA Lines 1N, 1S or 2 [1]
Servicing: Not permitted on a lot adjacent to an over-threshold lake trout lake where municipal water and sewer are unavailable and any part of the leaching bed is or would be within 300 m of the shoreline (s.4.2.10(g)) [1]
Approvals: Building permit plus registration under Units Registration By-law 2017-14 [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 · Greater Sudbury’s term: “single detached dwelling”

The by-law defines 'dwelling unit area' but sets no minimum dwelling floor area in the residential (R1) or rural zone standards. Instead, the zone's lot area, frontage, yard and coverage standards apply.

Minimum dwelling size: None found in Part 6 (Residential) or Part 9 (Rural) zone standards [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.

Allowed with limits · Greater Sudbury’s term: “mobile home dwelling / travel trailer / park model home”

Mobile home dwellings may be used as dwelling units only in the Agricultural, Rural, Rural Shoreline and Residential Mobile Home zones, or as seasonal dwellings in the SLS zone. They must be built to CSA Z240, enclosed to grade, serviced and mounted on a permanent foundation. Using travel trailers or recreation vehicles for habitation is prohibited outside camping grounds, and park model homes are defined as trailers for temporary seasonal habitation.

Where allowed: A, RU, RS and RMH zones (seasonal dwelling in SLS); in RMH within a mobile home park (s.4.19, Tables 6.1 and 9.1) [1]
Temporary garden suite: Part 12 lists site-specific Planning Act s.39 temporary use by-laws for garden suites, several 'in the form of a mobile home dwelling', with 3-year terms (e.g. Aug 12, 2026 – Aug 12, 2029) [1]
Approvals: Building permit required for placement; must meet CSA Z240, be 'completely enclosed from the surface of the finished grade to the roof', be serviced, and be 'mounted on a permanent foundation' [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 · Greater Sudbury’s term: “private cabin”

A 'private cabin' (an accessory building for temporary habitation with no cooking facilities) is permitted in the RU, RS and SLS zones, but only as an accessory to a permitted seasonal dwelling. Otherwise the by-law prohibits using accessory buildings and boathouses for human habitation.

Where allowed: RU, RS and SLS zones, accessory to a permitted seasonal dwelling only (Table 9.1, special provision 4) [1]
Number allowed: Maximum 1 private cabin per lot [1]
Maximum size: 30.0 m² gross floor area [1]
Maximum height: 5.0 m for accessory buildings on a residential lot; 6.5 m in A and RU zones for buildings accessory to a dwelling (s.4.2.4) [1]
Kitchen: No cooking facilities (definition of Private Cabin) [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][12]

Official links

Last confirmed October 2026.

Notes and caveats

The by-law is published as one HTML page (last updated October 9, 2026). The City's guide adds two rules I did not find in s.4.2.10 as read. First, it says additional units are not permitted in the Rural Shoreline zone. Second, it says that in Rural and Agricultural zones up to two additional units are allowed, one in or attached to the main building and the other within 30 m, possibly as a mobile home. The by-law itself bars the mobile-home form only in R and FD zones. Garden suites (s.4.10) are permitted only by temporary use by-law and not on lots with more than one dwelling unit. Exception RS(2) allows a 103 m² private cabin, and a few R1-1 exceptions permit private cabins site-specifically. The guide page reset a direct curl connection but loaded via WebFetch.

Sources

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