Canada has no country-wide zoning law for tiny homes. Placement is decided at the municipal level, which is why the same home can be welcomed in one district and refused two roads over. The good news: the trend is firmly toward more permission, not less — led by BC’s provincial housing reforms.
Where your home can go depends on how it’s certified. A CSA Z240 RV unit is treated like a recreational vehicle — perfect for RV-permitted land, resorts and many rural parcels. A CSA Z241 park model belongs in resorts and seasonal communities. A CSA A277 modular home is a permanent dwelling in the eyes of the building code — it can sit on a foundation as a garden suite, laneway home or primary residence wherever dwellings are permitted.
Bill 44 requires most municipalities to allow three to six homes on lots that used to be single-family only. That makes the backyard — not the RV pad — the biggest tiny-home opportunity in the province. Garden suites and laneway homes are now outright-permitted uses in most BC communities.
Confirm three things with your municipality: the zoning of the parcel, whether your intended certification class is permitted, and servicing requirements (water, septic or sewer, power). We run this check for every customer as step one — it takes days, not months, and it’s free.
Originally published on the HomeSmart Living journal · October 24, 2025
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