Lot check
Is your Toronto backyard eligible for a garden suite?
Three measurements, two minutes. The checker applies Toronto's garden suite zoning rules (Chapter 150.7) and the fire-access limits to estimate what you can build.
Your lot
Along the side of the house. Pace it out, or measure it on the survey.
Usually the street in front of the house.
Result for the sample lot
Likely eligible
- Footprint, est.
- 44 m²
- 478 sq ft
- Floor area, est.
- 44 m²
- 478 sq ft
- From the house
- 4.0 m
- one storey
Our models within your floor area
How we worked it out (5)
- Roughly 27 ft (8.2 m) of depth and 20 ft (6.1 m) of width are available after the 4.0 m separation and setbacks, if the suite's side walls have no windows or doors (a side wall with windows or doors needs 1.5 m).
- The walk of about 35 ft (11 m) is within the 45 m limit, so access alone doesn't call for sprinklers.
- We confirm the hydrant distance from City mapping. It needs to be within 45 m of where the truck parks.
- 50% of the rear yard must stay soft landscaping. That leaves about 52 m² for the suite and all paving, and about 44 m² for the suite once a path and bike parking are allowed for.
- One storey keeps the height at 4.0 m with only 4.0 m of separation; floor area is capped at 60 m². On a lot deeper than 45.0 m from the street to the rear lot line, the rear setback is half the suite's height instead: 2.0 m for a 4.0 m suite.
A first check, not a zoning review: lot coverage, protected trees, easements and existing buildings also matter. Numbers from Chapter 150.7 of Zoning By-law 569-2013 and Toronto Building, checked October 2026.
Find your lot on the map.
Every lot in the city, coloured from Toronto's zoning and property data. Search your address, then tap your lot to see its area, its zoning and how far the nearest fire hydrant is.
Every lot in Toronto
Search your address, then tap your lot.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Toronto (opens in a new tab). Contains information made available under the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)'s Open Data Licence v 1.0 (opens in a new tab).
- Likely room for a garden suite
- Unlikely to fit a suite
- The space left behind the house for a suite
- Conservation land: building here needs TRCA approval
- Fire hydrant
A first screen, not a zoning review. The map doesn't measure the walk from the street to the suite, protected trees or the floor-area cap. Use the check above with your own measurements, and we confirm it all from your survey.
What Toronto's garden suite by-law actually says.
- 01
Height and separation
4.0 m high if within 7.5 m of the house; 6.3 m (two storeys) if 7.5 m or more away. A suite of 4.0 m or less needs only 4.0 m of separation.
Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 150.7 Garden Suites (opens in a new tab) - 02
Floor area
Maximum 120 m² gross floor area, or 60 m² if one storey, and always less than the main house.
Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 150.7 Garden Suites (opens in a new tab) - 03
Setbacks
Rear 1.5 m, or 3.0 m if the suite has rear windows more than 4.0 m above grade facing a neighbouring residential lot (more on lots deeper than 45.0 m). Side: the greater of 0.6 m or 10% of frontage; where that wall has windows or doors, the greater of 1.5 m or 10% of frontage; never more than 3.0 m.
Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 150.7 Garden Suites (opens in a new tab) - 04
Soft landscaping
50% of the rear yard must stay soft landscaping on lots wider than 6.0 m; 25% on lots 6.0 m wide or less.
Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 150.7 Garden Suites (opens in a new tab) - 05
Fire access
A path at least 1.0 m wide and 2.1 m high, no more than 45 m from the street to the suite door (up to 90 m with sprinklers or fire-resistant construction, plus a flashing light outside and smoke alarms), and a hydrant within 45 m of where the truck parks.
Toronto Building: providing emergency access to a new garden suite (opens in a new tab) - 06
Parking
No vehicle parking is required; two bicycle spaces are.
Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 150.7 Garden Suites (opens in a new tab)
About the check.
01Is the garden suite lot check a zoning review?
No. It applies the main Chapter 150.7 numbers (separation, setbacks, floor area, soft landscaping) and Toronto Building's fire-access limits to three measurements. A real review also covers lot coverage, protected trees, easements, grading and any existing structures. We do that from your survey.
02What measurements does the lot check need?
Lot frontage, the depth from the back wall of your house to the rear lot line and the walk from the street to where the suite door would be. Your survey has the first two; pace out the third along the side of the house.
03My walk from the street to the suite door is over 45 m. Is that the end?
No. Toronto Building accepts up to 90 m with sprinklers (a home sprinkler system designed by a Professional Engineer) or fire-resistant construction, plus a flashing light outside and smoke alarms. It adds cost, so we tell you before design starts.
04Can I build two storeys?
Yes, if the suite sits at least 7.5 m from your house. The height limit is then 6.3 m and total floor area is capped at 120 m². Between Coxwell Ave, the Don River, Victoria Park Ave and the lake, the separation rule asks only 5.0 m for a taller suite, but the height rule still caps a suite less than 7.5 m from the house at 4.0 m, so we confirm with the City before you plan a two-storey suite less than 7.5 m from the house there.
05Do I need a parking space for a garden suite?
No. Chapter 150.7 requires no parking space for a garden suite, only two bicycle parking spaces.
For a firm answer, send the address and the survey.
Send the address in the quote form, then email or WhatsApp the survey. You'll get a zoning review, the models that fit and a quote for the drawings.