Built from the ground up
A second, self-contained home in your backyard: for family, for rental income or for work. Route Homes checks what your lot allows, then designs, permits and builds laneway suites and garden suites across Toronto.
A laneway or garden suite is a separate, self-contained home behind the main house, with its own kitchen, bathroom and entrance. Families use them for parents or grown children, as rentals, or as a separate office or studio.
Whether your lot can take one, and how big, depends on its width and depth, whether it backs onto a public lane, the trees, and how firefighters and services reach it. We answer that first, before any design.
Both are permitted across Toronto, both are separate homes, and neither can be sold separately from the main house.
The practical differences are access, servicing and how much yard is left, which is why the lot review comes first.
Both types are permitted as of right, so a suite that meets the rules goes straight to a building permit. The rules limit:
If the design needs more, a minor variance is possible.
Firefighters must be able to reach the suite, so the lot needs a clear access route from the street or the lane. On a narrow lot with a tight side yard, this is often the deciding factor.
Lots in heritage conservation districts or near ravines and watercourses can have extra review. We check this before design so there are no surprises at permit stage.
The rules have been changing quickly as the City adds housing options, so we confirm the current by-law for your address rather than relying on older guides.
The same building can serve different purposes over the years.
A place for parents or grown children to live close by, with their own front door and their own space.
A self-contained rental home that helps carry the mortgage, built to the standards a tenant needs.
Work that is truly separate from the house, without the commute.
A suite added on top of the units in the main house.
As a rental: tenants value a front door of their own. Plan for its own laundry and thermostat, good sound and heat insulation and, where the lot allows, a path and outdoor space that do not cut through your part of the yard.
For a parent: plan the home they will need in ten years, with one level or a main-floor bedroom, a step-free entry, a curbless shower and wide doorways.
For a grown child or a tenant: two storeys, where your lot allows them, get the most space from a small footprint.
A suite is a small new house on your lot: foundation, structure, envelope, services and finishes, built to rent or to live in.
Send the address and a photo of the backyard, and tell us who the suite is for. We will check lane and fire access and what the rules allow before we book a visit.
Most suites connect water, sewer and power to the main house. The distance, the depth of the sewer and whether the house’s services can carry a second home all affect cost.
Sometimes a new, larger water service or a separate hydro meter is the better choice.
Trees shape many Toronto backyards: work near a private tree 30 cm or more in diameter, or near any City tree, needs a permit, and the footprint and foundation are designed around the protected root zone.
Because the suite is a separate building, most families stay in the house throughout.
The biggest cost drivers are the size and number of storeys, the foundation, how far the services run, construction access to the backyard and the finish level. A suite behind a wide side yard is simpler to build than one reached through a narrow passage.
Design and permits come first and take a few months; construction follows. Behind a house with no more than two units, a suite is exempt from development charges; behind a larger multiplex, Toronto can defer them. You get a written budget after we review your lot.
We check the lot size, lane access, trees, fire access and servicing, and tell you whether a suite fits and roughly how big.
Floor plan, elevations and a budget developed together, sized to the rules for your lot.
Building permit, plus tree and other permits where they apply, or a minor variance if the design needs one.
Excavation, foundation and the water, sewer and power connections to the main house or street.
Structure, envelope, systems and finishes, with every City inspection booked and passed.
Final inspections closed, a walkthrough with you and your warranty in writing.
A laneway suite is on a lot that backs onto a public lane and is reached from it. A garden suite is on a lot without a lane and is reached through the property. Both are separate homes in the rear of the lot.
Garden suites are permitted across Toronto, but the lot has to meet the rules for size, distance from the house and fire access. We check your lot before any design work.
Yes. It can be rented or used by family. It cannot be severed and sold separately from the main house.
Not always. Most suites connect to the main house’s services; if those cannot carry a second home, a new water service or a separate meter can be the better option.
Not behind an existing house with up to two units: Ontario’s Development Charges Act exempts one unit in an ancillary building there. Behind a house with more units, the City’s Laneway and Garden Suite Development Charges Deferral Program defers the charge for 20 years and then forgives it, unless the lot is severed or divided into condominium units in that time.
It depends on your lot. The rules cap height, footprint, distance from the house and the property lines, and rear-yard coverage, so a deep, wide lot allows a larger suite. We work out the maximum for your address at the lot review.
Yes. A laneway or garden suite can be added on top of the units in the main house, so a lot can carry a multiplex and a backyard suite together, as long as each part meets its own rules.
Usually yes. Access and deliveries are planned so the main house stays usable.
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We check lane access, the lot size, the trees, fire access and servicing, and tell you whether a suite fits and roughly how big it can be, before any design work starts.
