Southwold zoning for small homes

Township of Southwold, in the County of Elgin. Population 4,851 (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 · Southwold’s term: “additional dwelling unit in an accessory structure”

One additional dwelling unit is permitted in an accessory structure on a lot with a single detached, semi-detached, rowhouse or street rowhouse dwelling, subject to size, servicing, parking and accessory-building rules. On A1 and A3 agricultural lots it must be within the farm building or residential building cluster. [1]

Number allowed: Maximum two additional dwelling units per lot: one in the primary dwelling and one in an accessory structure (s. 3.48(c)) [2]
Maximum size: Floor area of a detached additional dwelling unit shall not exceed 40% of the total habitable floor area of the primary dwelling unit (s. 3.48(i)) [2]
Maximum height: Must meet the zone's accessory use rules (s. 3.48(h)); accessory buildings shall not exceed 5.5 m (18 ft.) in height (s. 3.1(a)(vi)) [2]
Setbacks: Accessory buildings not closer than 1.2 m (4 ft.) to an interior side or rear lot line in a residential zone, and not in the front yard or exterior side yard of a corner lot (s. 3.1(a)) [2]
Separation from house: Accessory buildings shall not be erected within 2.0 m (6.6 ft.) of a main building (s. 3.1(a)(vii)) [2]
Parking: Minimum one parking space per additional dwelling unit; may be in tandem with the primary dwelling's spaces (s. 3.48(k)) [2]
Servicing: A municipal or private water supply system and a municipal or private sanitary system must be available (s. 3.48(b)) [2]
Where allowed: Lots with a rowhouse, semi-detached, single detached or street rowhouse dwelling; not on regulated hazard lands without Conservation Authority permission; within the farm building or residential cluster on A1 and A3 lots (s. 3.48(a), (e), (g)) [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 with limits · Southwold’s term: “single detached dwelling”

A general provision sets a minimum floor area of 83.6 m² (900 sq ft) per dwelling unit for single detached dwellings in all zones.

Minimum dwelling size: Single detached dwelling: 83.6 m² (900 ft²) per dwelling unit (s. 3.21, Minimum Floor Area, applies to all zones) [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.

Not allowed · Southwold’s term: “mobile home / trailer”

A mobile home is a prohibited use in every zone except as a temporary construction use, and a dwelling is defined to exclude a trailer or mobile home. No zone permits mobile homes or trailers as dwellings; a temporary use by-law (Temporary (T) Zone) would be needed.

Where allowed: s. 3.39(e): prohibited in any zone "a mobile home, except as a construction use as provided for in Section 3.3"; "DWELLING" does not include a trailer or mobile home [2]
Temporary garden suite: No general garden suite provision. Section 21 Temporary (T) Zone permits temporary uses by site-specific by-law; e.g. T1-R1 allows a 'Second Dwelling Unit' for up to three years from November 9, 2023 [2]
Approvals: Construction uses (s. 3.3) allow a mobile home or trailer only while needed for work in progress, up to one year, and not used as a dwelling unit [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 · Southwold’s term: “accessory building”

Accessory buildings shall not be used for human habitation unless a dwelling unit is specifically permitted as an accessory use, so a sleeping cabin without a kitchen is not permitted. An accessory structure can instead hold a full additional dwelling unit under s. 3.48.

Where allowed: s. 3.1(a)(i): no accessory building "shall be used for human habitation, except where a dwelling unit is specifically permitted as an accessory use" [2]
Maximum height: 5.5 m (18 ft.) for accessory buildings other than agricultural buildings (s. 3.1(a)(vi)) [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

The by-law is published as HTML on one page with no consolidation date; it includes By-law 2022-44 (s. 3.48 Additional Dwelling Units) and a Temporary zone exception passed November 9, 2023, so it has been updated since 2023. The page warns that recent amendments may not be included. The Additional Dwelling Units By-law page reproduces s. 3.48 but words clause (i) as 'each additional dwelling unit' rather than 'a detached additional dwelling unit' (both cap floor area at 40% of the primary dwelling's habitable floor area). The minimum floor area table (s. 3.21) is laid out with labels and values on separate lines in the HTML; 83.6 m² is read as the single detached figure. 'Lifestyle community' (mobile/modular homes) is defined but not listed as a permitted use in any zone found.

Sources

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