SuiteRulesCanada
Canadian suite & ADU planning reference

Can this property legally hold another home?

Secondary suites, basement units, garden suites, laneway homes and ADUs—mapped through provincial frameworks and municipal permit routes.

Browse suite-rule citiesSee the housing-source standard →
Find your local suite rules

Choose your province or territory, then your city.

Start with the province or territory. We’ll show the city guides currently available for that location.

Choose a city to open its current suite, ADU and local approval guide.

169 city guides10 provincial frameworksHousing permit source routesDirectory updated Oct. 9, 2026
Suite planning

Check the rule. Build the budget. Then decide who to call.

Suite & ADU rules by provinceCompare all 10 provincial land-use frameworks before you read the local bylaw.→Can I add a secondary suite?Start with provincial entitlement, local zoning, building code and the permit route.→Basement suite permitsEgress, fire separation, ventilation, plumbing and inspections for an added dwelling unit.→Garden suites, laneway homes and ADUsDetached units add site coverage, height, setback, servicing and access questions.→Legalizing an existing suiteHow to separate “it has always been there” from documented legal status.→
Housing rules by province

Start with the province, finish at the parcel.

Provincial housing frameworks set the broad layer; the municipality and property determine the actual approval path.

BCBritish Columbia72 city guidesABAlberta17 city guidesSKSaskatchewan5 city guidesMBManitoba5 city guidesONOntario43 city guidesQCQuebec12 city guidesNBNew Brunswick5 city guidesNSNova Scotia5 city guidesPEPrince Edward Island2 city guidesNLNewfoundland and Labrador3 city guides
One planning path

Check the rule. Build the budget. Then decide who to call.

SuiteRulesCanada stays focused on approvals. When you are ready for the next step, the portfolio links below keep budgeting and contractor matching separate and transparent.

1 · RulesCheck local suite / ADU rulesStart with the municipality and official source.Browse cities →2 · BudgetEstimate project costsUse Canadian renovation planning ranges with no email wall.Open Home Cost Canada →3 · ContractorStart one contractor matchUse contractor matching only after the property approval path is understood.Open HomeSelect →

SuiteRulesCanada, HomeCostCanada, HomeSelect and BCQuote are operated within the same website portfolio. Links to those sites are portfolio referrals, not independent recommendations.