Orillia zoning for small homes
City of Orillia, a single-tier municipality. Population 33,411 (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 · Orillia’s term: “additional dwelling unit (in an accessory structure)”
Up to two additional dwelling units may be built in an accessory structure (not a boathouse) on a lot with a permitted dwelling, on a permanent foundation and not below grade, with a maximum of three additional units on the lot. The City's guide says the first step is a Zoning Certificate, followed by a lot grading plan and a building permit. [1]
- Maximum size
- Ground floor area and GFA: 75 m² on lots ≤460 m²; 100 m² on lots >460 m² and <1,000 m²; 140 m² on lots ≥1,000 m² (including porches, attached decks and balconies) [2]
- Maximum height
- 6.5 m with a pitched roof; 5.0 m with a flat or mansard roof; rooftop patios prohibited [2]
- Setbacks
- Front, interior side and exterior side yards as for the zone; rear yard 1.5 m (6.5 m where the front lot line is a shoreline) [2]
- Separation from house
- 1.5 m minimum from the main building [2]
- Number allowed
- Up to 2 units in an accessory structure; maximum 3 additional dwelling units per lot (the City guide says up to four units on a lot) [2]
- Minimum lot size
- None (n/a in Table 5.2) [2]
- Servicing
- Not permitted on a lot with a private septic system unless permitted under s.5.17 and the system complies with all applicable legislation and the Building Code [2]
- Approvals
- Zoning Certificate, then lot grading plan (for detached units), then building permit [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. [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 · Orillia’s term: “single detached dwelling”
The residential zone provisions (Table 7.2) set lot area, frontage, coverage and yards but no minimum dwelling floor area. New single detached dwellings are prohibited in designated Intensification Areas of the R2 and R3 zones.
- Minimum dwelling size
- None in the residential zone provisions [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.
Allowed with limits · Orillia’s term: “mobile home dwelling / trailer / tourist trailer”
The by-law prohibits using any tent, trailer or motor vehicle for human habitation except in a trailer camp or mobile home park. The only mobile home park use permitted is a legally existing one in the R6 zone. The by-law notes that a garden suite can be permitted by temporary use by-law for up to 20 years.
- Where allowed
- Mobile Home Park (legally existing only) in the Residential Six (R6) zone; trailer camps (temporary vacation accommodation) [2]
- Temporary garden suite
- Garden suite (detached, temporary and/or portable unit ancillary to an existing single detached dwelling) may be permitted by temporary use by-law for up to 20 years [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.
Not allowed · Orillia’s term: “private cabin”
The by-law defines a 'Cabin, Private' (an accessory building for temporary human habitation without cooking facilities) but does not permit it in any zone. Accessory buildings may not contain habitable rooms or be used for human habitation unless the by-law specifically permits it, as it does for additional dwelling units.
- Maximum size
- Any one residential accessory building: 68.0 m² floor area [2]
- Maximum height
- 5.0 m for accessory buildings without a dwelling unit [2]
- Number allowed
- Maximum 3 accessory buildings or structures per lot in a Residential zone [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
Sources
- Orillia’s guide to additional units
- Zoning By-law 2014-44
- Planning Act (Ontario e-Laws)
- O. Reg. 299/19: Additional residential units (Ontario e-Laws)
- Development Charges Act, 1997 (Ontario e-Laws)
- Government of Ontario PDF
- Build or buy a tiny home: Building Code requirements (Government of Ontario)
- Building Code Act, 1992 (Ontario e-Laws)
- O. Reg. 163/24: Ontario Building Code (Ontario e-Laws)
- 2024 Ontario Building Code (Government of Ontario)
- Build or buy a tiny home: permits and inspections (Government of Ontario)
- Building Code updates (Government of Ontario)
Not legal advice
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