Garden Suite Toronto | Full Design-Build + Toronto Permits + Fixed-Price Delivery Since 2003

A detached garden suite is a separate 40 to 60 sqm home in your rear yard, built under By-law 574-2022 and Zoning By-law 569-2013. We engineer every suite to OBC Part 9 and Toronto Green Standard Tier 1, with helical piles or a frost-protected shallow foundation, a cold-climate heat pump and an HRV. One fixed-price contract covers feasibility, design, the Toronto Building Division permit, Toronto Hydro and Toronto Water connections, construction and occupancy. Most projects take 4 to 7 months from signed design to keys.

Includes: Design, permits, utilities, construction, finishes, occupancy. Timeline: 4-7 months; construction 10-16 weeks.

Our in-house Toronto zoning expeditor files your full garden suite permit with Toronto Building Division and handles the Zoning Examiner, every Examiner's Notice and all plan revisions. We coordinate Toronto Water, Toronto Hydro and Enbridge while the file is in review, and run TRCA, Urban Forestry and Heritage Preservation Services liaison when your lot needs it. If a minor variance is required, we prepare the Committee of Adjustment application. Permit-in-hand averages 12 to 14 weeks, against 20 weeks or more for most first-time submissions.

Includes: Submission, revisions, agency liaison, permit pickup. Timeline: 12-14 weeks average.

A laneway house, or laneway suite, is a backyard home that faces a public lane. It follows Zoning By-law 569-2013 Chapter 150.8, which sets lane frontage, height, angular plane and setback rules that differ from garden suites. We confirm your lot has at least 3.5 m of public lane frontage, plan servicing from the lane or through the main house with Toronto Hydro and Toronto Water, solve the fire access route for Toronto Fire Services, and build to OBC Part 9 under one fixed price. If a garden suite fits your lot better, the feasibility report says so.

Includes: Feasibility, design, permits, servicing, construction. Timeline: 5-8 months.

Toronto garden suites run $220,000 to $380,000 for a 60 sqm detached unit and $160,000 to $240,000 for 40 sqm, including design, permits, construction and delivery. Prefab-hybrid saves $20,000 to $40,000. Our cost service starts with a free consult, then turns your feasibility findings into a written fixed-price CAD quote. You see hard costs vs soft costs, lot-specific drivers such as utility upgrades or helical piles, and a 5-stage draw schedule. Zero deposit on feasibility, 10% at contract and no change orders without your written approval.

Includes: Consult, cost breakdown, fixed-price quote. Timeline: Quote within 2 weeks of feasibility.

Prefab-hybrid garden suites combine factory-built panelized framing or CSA A277 certified modules with a site-built foundation, utility connections and custom finishing. They follow the same By-law 574-2022 rules, OBC Part 9 review and Toronto Building permit as a site-built suite. On site, construction runs about 10 weeks once the foundation is ready, and most owners save $20,000 to $40,000. We plan the crane lift, street occupancy permit and helical pile or slab foundation, then finish the interior to Toronto Green Standard.

Includes: Supplier coordination, permits, foundation, install, finishing. Timeline: About 10 weeks on site.

Many Toronto lots already have a detached garage in the right spot for a suite. We assess the slab, footings, walls and roof, check legal non-conforming setbacks against By-law 574-2022, and design the change of use permit. A conversion adds spray foam or exterior insulation, fire separation where limiting distance requires it, new windows and doors, a 100-amp sub-panel from Toronto Hydro service, and water and sewer trenched from the house. When a rebuild in the same footprint gives more space for the money, our written convert vs rebuild comparison says so.

Includes: Assessment, design, permit, conversion, finishes. Timeline: 3-5 months.

We design to your lot's measured envelope first, then to your life. Our BCIN Part 9 designers draw studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and loft layouts from 40 to 60 sqm against Zoning By-law 569-2013 and By-law 574-2022. Packages include survey coordination, site plan, floor plans, elevations, building sections, SB-12 energy compliance, Toronto Green Standard documentation and 3D exterior and interior renderings. You can adapt one of the City of Toronto pre-approved plans or go fully custom, with defined revision rounds and a stamped set ready for Toronto Building submission.

Includes: Design package with defined revision rounds. Timeline: 4-8 weeks.

By-law 574-2022 interacts with Zoning By-law 569-2013 Chapter 150.7, the Tree Protection By-law, the Ravine and Natural Feature Protection By-law, Heritage Conservation District rules and the Toronto Green Standard. A design that passes one checklist can fail another. Our written compliance memo checks rear yard setback, building separation, size, height, angular plane, lot coverage and soft landscaping, then screens trees, ravine and heritage overlays and rates your minor variance risk. It costs $1,500 to $3,500 and takes 1 to 2 weeks.

Includes: Written compliance memo with fixes. Timeline: 1-2 weeks.

Every project opens with a written feasibility report. We visit the lot, confirm eligibility against By-law 574-2022 and the zoning overlay, and measure the real allowable envelope: size, height, setbacks and separation. We screen TRCA regulated areas, the Ravine and Natural Feature Protection By-law, protected trees and Heritage Conservation Districts, measure the 45 m fire access path, and review soil and access. Toronto Hydro, Toronto Water and Enbridge capacity is pre-qualified. The report ends with a budget range and a rental calculator, in about two weeks, for $1,200 to $2,800 with zero deposit.

Includes: Site visit, written report, review call. Timeline: About 2 weeks.

Rental garden suites are designed for what Toronto tenants actually pay for: a separate entry, good light, storage, in-suite laundry and quiet. Most rent for $2,200 to $3,400 a month. Every feasibility report includes a rental calculator, so you can test rental yield and payback period before you sign. We plan sub-metering, durable low-maintenance finishes and documentation for the HST New Residential Rental Property Rebate. Long-term tenancies fall under the Residential Tenancies Act, and stays under 28 days need STR By-law 547-2017 licensing.

Includes: Design, permits, build, tenant-ready handover. Timeline: 4-7 months.

Family suites balance closeness and privacy. We design for aging in place with barrier-free entries, wider doors, a curbless shower and grab-bar backing in the walls, plus acoustic separation, a private entry and sub-metered utilities with separate heating. A lit, level path links the suite to the main house so help is close when it is needed, and home care workers can reach the door easily. Built to OBC Part 9 under By-law 574-2022, many families also qualify for the federal Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit.

Includes: Design, permits, build, accessibility features. Timeline: 4-7 months.

On shallow or compact lots, an attached unit can deliver a private suite while keeping more of the yard. We design the rear addition's shared wall for OBC Part 9 shared-wall fire separation and an STC sound rating that keeps both households quiet. The suite gets its own private entrance, outdoor space and services, with short utility runs from the main house to Toronto Hydro and Toronto Water connections. Before design, we confirm the right zoning path under Zoning By-law 569-2013, because an attached secondary suite is permitted differently from a detached garden suite.

Includes: Design, permits, construction, finishes. Timeline: 4-6 months.