McNab/Braeside zoning for small homes

Township of McNab/Braeside, in the County of Renfrew. Population 7,591 (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 · McNab/Braeside’s term: “coach house / additional dwelling unit”

One additional dwelling unit, including a detached coach house, is permitted per primary dwelling on private services only on lots of 0.8 ha or more. Lots of 0.4 to 0.8 ha or fronting on most waterbodies need a minor variance and a study, and units are barred within 300 m of at-capacity lakes and within 30 m of a navigable waterbody.

Minimum lot size: Private services: 0.4 ha or less not permitted; >0.4 to <0.8 ha only by minor variance with a study and shared services; 0.8 to <2.0 ha permitted, must share well/septic; 2.0 ha+ permitted, need not share (s.3.9.4.2) [1]
Where allowed: All zones permitting single detached, semi-detached or townhouse dwellings; not within 300 m of at-capacity/near-capacity lakes; on other waterbodies only by minor variance; not in floodway, NHF or EP zones or within 30 m of the high water mark of a navigable waterbody (s.3.4.4, 3.9.4.2, 3.9.4.8) [1]
Number allowed: Maximum one additional dwelling unit per primary dwelling unit (s.3.9.4.7); up to two in the Agriculture zone (s.3.9.4.12) [1]
Setbacks: Side and rear yards of the primary dwelling apply to the coach house; not within a minimum front yard in RU/A or within a front yard in other zones (s.3.9.4.4) [1]
Maximum height: Height of an accessory building (s.3.9.4.4(d)): 5 m in RR/LSR, 9 m in RU/A, 6 m in other zones (s.3.2.3) [1]
Parking: Minimum one space, may be tandem (s.3.9.4.6) [1]
Servicing: Only where adequate water, wastewater, stormwater and electricity servicing is or can be made available (s.3.9.4.1) [1]

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. [2][3][4]

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 · McNab/Braeside’s term: “single detached dwelling”

The Rural Residential, Limited Service Residential and Rural zone provisions set lot, yard, coverage and height standards but no minimum dwelling floor area. A minimum dwelling unit area appears only in some site-specific exception zones.

Minimum dwelling size: None in the base RR (s.6.2), LSR (s.7.2) or RU (s.19.2) zone provisions; minimum lot area 4047 m² in each [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. [2][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Tiny home on wheels or park model

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

Allowed with limits · McNab/Braeside’s term: “tiny home / recreational vehicle / mobile home”

A tiny home, on wheels or with its running gear removed, is treated as a recreational vehicle, and no recreational vehicle may be occupied outside a recreational vehicle campground. Mobile homes are permitted only in the Mobile Home Park zone, plus as a farm-help second dwelling in the Agriculture and Rural zones, and a garden suite excludes RVs and travel trailers.

Where allowed: Mobile homes prohibited in all zones other than Agriculture (A), Rural (RU) or Mobile Home Park (MHP); in A/RU one mobile home only as a second accessory dwelling for farm help (s.3.17.1) [1]
Temporary garden suite: Garden suite defined as a temporary, detached, portable unit sharing servicing with the principal dwelling, excluding recreational vehicles, travel trailers, tent trailers or motor homes; no other garden suite provisions found in the text [1]
Approvals: No recreational vehicle shall be occupied unless located within a recreational vehicle campground (s.3.17.3); no tiny home constructed on wheels, RV or trailer shall be used as a primary residence (s.3.23); 'Tiny Home' is defined as a recreational vehicle (s.2) [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. [10][5][2][7][6]

Bunkie or sleeping cabin

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

Allowed with limits · McNab/Braeside’s term: “sleep cabin (bunkie)”

One sleep cabin is permitted only on waterfront lots of at least 4000 m² on lakes and rivers that are not designated 'at capacity'. It may have no cooking, sanitary or plumbing facilities and may not be rented.

Where allowed: Waterfront lots on lakes and rivers with an area of 4000 m² (1 acre) or more; not on waterbodies designated 'at capacity' (s.3.2.2(a), 3.2.7) [1]
Maximum size: 18 m² (194 sq ft) (s.3.2.7) [1]
Maximum height: 4.5 m (14.7 ft) (s.3.2.7) [1]
Number allowed: One sleep cabin; not to be rented or leased (s.3.2.7) [1]
Kitchen: Not more than two sleeping rooms; no cooking or sanitary facilities and not connected to plumbing (definition 'Cabin, Sleep') [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. [7][5][2][11]

Official links

Last confirmed October 2026.

Notes and caveats

Read the original as-passed text of By-law 2025-54 (in effect June 17, 2025); no consolidation is posted, and the Township lists it as 'as amended', so later amendments were not checked. Section numbering in the ADU part is inconsistent in the source (3.9, then 3.4.3/3.4.4, then 3.9.4.x); cited as printed. No Township ADU guide page was found. Section 3.2.2 says ADUs and garden suites are not accessory uses and must meet the primary-use provisions, so the RR/LSR 70 m² accessory aggregate does not appear to limit a coach house. This was not confirmed with the Township.

Sources

Not legal advice

Confirm with your municipality before you buy, build or move in.

Suggest a correction or source

Know of a by-law change, an exception or an official page we missed? Tell us. An editor checks every suggestion before the page changes.

Find help nearby

We don’t have a directory page for McNab/Braeside’s area yet. These cover all of Ontario.

All Ontario municipalities