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Sudbury is one of the most beautiful populated centers in Ontario, situated on gorgeous pink rocks and picturesque hills. But what’s the tiny home situation in Sudbury? 

Municipal interest increasing

The City of Greater Sudbury has been reviewing tiny houses as an affordable housing option in response to their housing crisis, part of their overall push towards exploring “alternative housing options”. 

A review was conducted in 2019-2020 and the report presented to the planning committee, with several by-law adjustments made in 2020 as a result. 

The city also intends to promote tiny houses as part of their education effort on alternative housing options, addressing the need for affordable housing in the city that staff say goes beyond the waitlist for subsidized housing.

Tiny houses can be built on empty lots or as secondary units

With no minimum square footage for a residence, you can build a tiny home on any lot in Sudbury where you can meet the land usage, setback, and other requirements. 

If you’re looking to build on a lot where another home already exists, you will be building a “secondary unit” and subject to a few regulations. As a result of the recent by-law adjustment, rezoning is not required and development charges are waived. 

Tiny Houses on Wheels (THOW) not approved, except in Rural and Agricultural areas

Based on the consultation done for the tiny house report, the City of Greater Sudbury has not allowed tiny houses on wheels to be used for full-time dwellings in the city. 

“Speaking to those that are interested, their primary concern is more affordability than having an option that is more of a transportable typical tiny house on wheels that you hear about often on TV,” senior planner Melissa Riou told CBC News

However, if you’re looking to live outside the city, there is some flexibility there. Tiny homes on wheels, refined as mobile homes in the city by-law, are allowed as secondary dwellings in Rural (RU), Agricultural (A) or Rural Shoreline (RS) Zones as long as they’re not bigger than 45% of the floor area of the main house on the lot and no more than 30 metres away from it. 

Ready to talk to a Sudbury city planner about a building permit? Call local: 311 or long distance: 705-671-2489

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1 Comment

  1. So long as all criteria mentioned in the article are met, does the same allowances apply when the plan is to turn an outbuilding such as a barn or garage into a full time living space? Does it matter weather the new dwelling is all self sufficient or connected to the existing house when it comes to water, sewage, gas and electric power supply? How much more will taxes be for this property?

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