Kamloops groups carriage, garden and secondary suites under its residential-suite guidance. The city’s 2024 zoning changes expanded small-scale housing options, but the number and type of units still depend on the zone, servicing and BC Building Code requirements.
Select a B.C. property to check the parcel, available zoning and suite-planning data.
Start with the municipality and parcel area. The manual check stays open here, but the questions are split into 4 short steps so you do not have to scroll through everything at once.
Four short steps. Answer what you know and choose “Not sure” for anything you have not checked.
This is the simple build-direction summary. The exact property still has to meet its zoning, site, servicing and permit requirements.
Before you build: confirm the exact property, zoning and permit path with Kamloops.
Kamloops uses “residential suite” as the umbrella term for secondary, garden and carriage suites. Current zoning distinguishes the zones where one suite is allowed from R1–R4 lots that can support multiple dwelling units.
Yes. A new secondary suite or detached dwelling needs the applicable Kamloops approvals and building permit before construction/occupancy. Existing work may require a legalization or existing-building review rather than simply a new-build permit.
A permitted residential suite may be occupied/rented as a dwelling. Garden and carriage suites may have additional title/strata rules that differ from an internal secondary suite.
No. Age or long-standing occupancy does not by itself prove municipal approval. Check Kamloops permit/property records and, where relevant, whether a lawful non-conforming status actually exists before describing a suite as “grandfathered.”
The permitted combination depends on zone and total dwelling count. On zones framed as “one residential suite,” secondary/garden/carriage are alternatives; R1–R4 can allow more units under current SSMUH zoning.
Use these tools only after confirming the municipal path. Cost planning and contractor matching do not establish zoning, code compliance or permit approval.
Guide verification: Official-source research summary. This guide provides linked municipal research; a complete enacted-bylaw, zoning-map and amendment cross-check has not been documented for this municipality.
Property confidence: Not assessed. City-wide guidance does not confirm permission for a particular parcel. Check official zoning, overlays and permits. How verification works →
Reviewed September 20, 2026. This is a planning summary, not a permit decision. Confirm the current zoning, registered title constraints, servicing and permit requirements for the specific property before design or construction.
V69.61 targeted primary-source review · October 12, 2026: The City says one residential suite is permitted in R5-R8, CR1-CR3 and A1 subject to duplex and Rayleigh Waterworks exceptions; R1-R4 may support multiple homes including suites. Official municipal record ↗ Not yet verified: Specific maximum suite floor area, location, servicing, development-permit and changed bylaw sections remain to be reconciled for each lot. No comprehensive current-by-law signoff or parcel approval is claimed.