Red Lake zoning for small homes

Municipality of Red Lake, a single-tier municipality. Population 4,094 (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 · Red Lake’s term: “secondary dwelling unit (in an accessory building)”

A secondary dwelling unit is permitted in a dwelling or an accessory building in the R1, R2 and R4 zones, but in an accessory building it may not be on the ground floor or below grade. A garden suite is allowed only through a temporary use by-law. Ontario's Planning Act (s. 35.1) overrides zoning provisions that would prohibit one unit in a building ancillary to a house on serviced urban land. [1][2]

Where allowed: R1, R2 and R4 zones; when in an accessory building, not permitted on the ground floor or below grade (s.3.3 f. ii) [3]
Maximum size: Net floor area not more than 55 m2 or 40% of the net floor area of the main dwelling, whichever is less (s.3.3 f. i) [3]
Number allowed: One secondary dwelling unit per lot; not on a lot with a guest cabin, garden suite, bed and breakfast, group home or boarding house (s.3.3 f. iii, vi) [3]
Parking: 1 space per unit (s.3.22) [3]
Temporary garden suite: Garden suites only where permitted by a temporary use by-law under s.39 of the Planning Act, in the R1 and R4 zones; max. 50% of the main dwelling's gross floor area or 74 m2 (800 sq ft), whichever is less; max. height 6 m or two storeys (s.3.3 e.) [3]

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][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 with limits · Red Lake’s term: “single-detached dwelling”

Every dwelling unit in a single-detached, semi-detached or modular dwelling must have at least 75 m2 of gross floor area; this does not apply to recreational dwellings. Units in the Mobile Home Residential (R3) zone need at least 42 m2.

Minimum dwelling size: 75 m2 (807.29 sq ft) gross floor area for single-detached, semi-detached and modular dwellings, all zones; not applicable to recreational dwellings (s.3.11 a.) [3]
Minimum dwelling size: 42 m2 (452.08 sq ft) in multi-unit and apartment dwellings and in the Mobile Home Residential (R3) zone (s.3.11 b.) [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. [2][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 · Red Lake’s term: “mobile home dwelling / travel trailer”

Mobile home dwellings (CSA Z240, on a permanent foundation) are a permitted use only in the Mobile Home Residential (R3) zone, which requires full municipal services; they are not listed in the R1 or R4 zones. Travel trailers are not a permitted dwelling, and campgrounds exclude year-round use of trailers; the municipality has passed site-specific temporary use by-laws for mobile homes. [1]

Where allowed: Dwelling, Mobile Home is a permitted use in the Mobile Home Residential (R3) zone (s.7.1); R3 requires full municipal services (s.7.3) [3]
Minimum dwelling size: 42 m2 in the R3 zone (s.3.11 b.) [3]
Temporary garden suite: A recreational vehicle shall not be permitted as a garden suite (s.3.3 e. x) [3]
Approvals: Campgrounds do not include 'the use of mobile homes or trailers on a year-round basis' (s.2 Definitions, Campground); site-specific temporary use by-laws for a mobile home exist (By-laws 34-2021 and 23-2024, 71 Sandy Bay Road) [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][2][8][7]

Bunkie or sleeping cabin

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

Allowed with limits · Red Lake’s term: “guest cabin”

One guest cabin (sleeping accommodation, no kitchen, washroom allowed) is permitted as accessory to a main residential use in the Recreational Residential (R5) zone. Accessory buildings elsewhere may not be used for human habitation except where the by-law says so.

Where allowed: Recreational Residential (R5) zone only (s.3.3 d.); accessory buildings are not used for human habitation except where specified (s.3.2 b.) [3]
Number allowed: One guest cabin per lot (s.3.3 d.) [3]
Maximum size: Net floor area not more than 55 m2 (592.02 sq ft); not more than 1% of lot area (s.3.3 d. ii, v) [3]
Maximum height: 4.5 m (14.76 ft) or the height of the main dwelling, whichever is less (s.3.3 d. iii) [3]
Setbacks: At least 3 m from a lot line and 2 m from a main building (s.3.3 d. i) [3]
Kitchen: No kitchen facilities; washroom facilities allowed (s.2 Definitions, Guest Cabin) [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. [8][6][2][12]

Official links

Last confirmed October 2026.

Notes and caveats

The posted text is the original by-law passed November 16, 2015, not consolidated. The zoning page (https://redlake.ca/business-and-development/planning-and-development/zoning/) lists 37 amending by-laws (2016-2026). All are site-specific rezonings or temporary use by-laws except five general amendments, which were read (four by OCR): 15-2016 (provincial comments/formatting; adds a 'Secondary Dwelling' definition and replaces 'accessory dwelling unit' with 'secondary dwelling unit' in s.3.3 f.; adds a 6 m minimum width for modular dwellings in R1/R4), 40-2018 (map corrections, M1-h), 29(A)-2019 (R2 zone table for multi-unit/townhouse), 19-2020 (MM zone dormitories) and 21-2020 (public use). None changes the provisions cited here, so the rules above are the 2015 text with those amendments applied. The site-specific 2016-2026 amendments were judged from their titles only. The 2015 secondary-unit rules (no ground-floor unit in an accessory building, 55 m2 cap) predate the provincial additional-residential-unit changes, and an Official Plan and Zoning By-law review is under way (draft by-law expected for public open house in Winter 2027: https://redlake.ca/business-and-development/planning-and-development/official-plan-and-zoning-by-law-update/).

Sources

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