Spanish zoning for small homes

Town of Spanish, a single-tier municipality. Population 670 (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 · Spanish’s term: “garden suite”

A detached garden suite is permitted as an accessory use to a single detached dwelling only after a site-specific temporary use by-law under s.39 of the Planning Act is passed. The second residential unit permitted as of right must be within the main dwelling. 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]

Maximum size: 74 m² (800 sq ft) gross floor area [2]
Maximum height: One storey [2]
Setbacks: Rear or interior side yard; at least 3 m (9.84 ft) from a rear or interior side lot line; meets zone building separation and lot coverage [2]
Servicing: Not permitted on a lake determined to be at biological capacity or where the lot cannot be serviced with an individual on-site sewage system of sufficient capacity [2]
Number allowed: Not permitted on a lot with an existing guest cabin or loft-above-a-garage [2]
Approvals: Site-specific temporary use by-law under s.39 of the Planning Act (s.4.1.9) [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. [1][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 with limits · Spanish’s term: “single detached dwelling”

The Low Density Residential (R1) zone requires a minimum net floor area of 70 m² per dwelling unit. The Rural (RU) and Lakeshore Development (LD) zone tables set no minimum floor area.

Minimum dwelling size: 70 m² (753 sq ft) minimum net floor area per dwelling unit in the Low Density Residential (R1) zone (Table 6.2) [2]
Where allowed: No minimum floor area in the Rural (RU, Table 19.2) or Lakeshore Development (LD, Table 22.2) zone regulations; the by-law defines a 'tiny house or small house' as a dwelling under 46.45 m² (500 sq ft) [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. [1][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 · Spanish’s term: “mobile home / recreational vehicle”

A mobile home is a permitted principal residential use in the Rural (RU) zone. Up to two recreational vehicles may be stored or used on a lot in the RU and LD zones, subject to the zone regulations and water and sewage requirements. Other zones do not permit RV use unless it is listed.

Where allowed: Mobile home listed as a permitted principal residential use in the Rural (RU) zone (s.19.1) [2]
Number allowed: A lot may be used for the storage or use of up to two recreational vehicles in the RU and LD zones, subject to zone regulations and s.4.32 (water and sewage); no lot in any other zone may be used for storage or use of a recreational vehicle unless listed as a permitted use (s.4.22.5) [2]
Temporary garden suite: Garden suite by site-specific temporary use by-law (s.4.1.9); a mobile home meeting the zone regulations may be a garden suite in a Rural zone only; a recreational vehicle is not a garden suite [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. [10][5][1][7][6]

Bunkie or sleeping cabin

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

Allowed · Spanish’s term: “guest cabin (sleep cabin)”

One guest cabin (no cooking facilities) or one loft above a detached garage is permitted per lot as an accessory use to a dwelling in the Rural, Restricted Open Space and Waterfront, and Lakeshore Development zones.

Where allowed: RU, ROS and LD zones (s.4.1.2.1) [2]
Maximum size: 50 m² (538.2 sq ft) gross floor area [2]
Number allowed: One guest cabin or one loft-above-a-garage per lot; not on a lot occupied by a garden suite [2]
Setbacks: At least 3 m (9.84 ft) from any interior or rear lot line and from the main building [2]
Kitchen: No cooking facilities; sanitary facilities allowed (definition) [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. [7][5][1][11]

Official links

Last confirmed October 2026.

Notes and caveats

By-law 2018-62 was passed June 19, 2019. The posted PDF is the as-passed text with no consolidation date, so later amendments, if any, are not reflected. A web search found no Spanish by-law amendment for additional residential units. The 'second residential unit' the by-law permits is within the main dwelling. Planning Act s.35.1 now authorizes additional units, including one in an ancillary building, on parcels with full municipal water and sewage; the by-law has not been updated for this, and this summary does not assess which Spanish lots are fully serviced.

Sources

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