Add a Second Home to Your Property
Toronto now permits garden suites and laneway homes on most residential lots, giving homeowners the ability to build a fully self-contained dwelling in their backyard. These are not sheds or accessory structures. They're real homes with kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and independent mechanical systems, built to the same code as any residential property in the city.
The use cases are compelling: housing an aging parent close to family, creating a private space for an adult child, generating rental income on a property you already own, or building a detached home office. With development charges waived for up to six units per lot, the economics have never been stronger.
Toronique manages the entire process, from assessing your lot's eligibility and navigating the permit requirements through construction and final inspection. We bring the same structural knowledge, trade coordination, and guaranteed pricing model that we apply to every project we build.
Our Garden Suite & Laneway Home Services
Garden Suite Construction
Toronique builds garden suites in Toronto from foundations and framing through to kitchens, bathrooms and interior finishes. We coordinate insulation, exterior cladding and building systems as part of the complete build, with the scope established around the approved design.
Laneway Home Construction
Our laneway house construction includes site preparation, foundations, utility connections and complete interior finishing. Work is coordinated around the existing home, neighbouring properties and lane access, with deliveries and installations scheduled to suit the available space.
Lot Assessment & Site Planning
We assess the property with the design team before developing the construction scope. The review considers zoning, trees, emergency access, separation from the main house and utility connections, helping identify the design options and additional approvals the site may require.
Permits & Approvals
Toronique coordinates the drawings, permit applications and supporting documents with the designers and other consultants. Where a minor variance or tree approval is required, we incorporate that step into the project plan and arrange the inspections needed during construction.
Garden Suites and Laneway Homes by Toronique
Efficient Residential Layouts
For a backyard suite, the relationship between room dimensions, circulation and storage has a substantial effect on how the home functions. We work with the designer to review these details before construction, including the separation of living and sleeping areas. The layout is developed around the intended residents and their practical needs.
Privacy and Property Integration
A laneway house or garden suite needs to function alongside the principal residence. We review entrances, window positions, pedestrian access and outdoor areas with the design team, taking account of how both households will use the property. Coordinating these elements helps establish appropriate privacy and clear access for each home.
Construction Experience on Constrained Sites
Our team manages excavation, foundations, utility connections and the building envelope on existing residential lots. We plan the work around the available access, coordinating the trades and deliveries to suit the site. That preparation is particularly important where equipment access, material storage and work areas are limited.
Garden Suite and Backyard Build Projects
Our experience building custom homes and managing complex site work across Toronto translates directly to garden suite and laneway home construction.
New Build
Custom Home
Salonica Avenue
New Build
Multiplex
Atlas Avenue
New Build
Multiplex
Cedric Avenue
New Build
Custom Home
Saintfield Avenue
New Build
Landscape Design & Build
Misty Crescent
Landscape Design & Build
Denlow Boulevard
Frequently Asked Questions
In Toronto, both are separate, self-contained homes on the same property as a main house, with their own kitchen, bathroom and living space. The main difference is their location:
- A garden suite, sometimes called a backyard suite, is generally built behind the main house on a lot that does not border a public laneway.
- A laneway house or laneway suite is usually built at the rear of a property that shares a qualifying rear or side lot line with a public laneway.
Toronique’s garden suite builders in Toronto construct both types of home for family living or rental use. We assess access, utility connections and zoning before developing a design around your property and how you intend to use the space.
You may be able to, but the answer depends on your lot. Toronto allows garden suites in most residential zones, while a laneway house requires a lot sharing a qualifying rear or side boundary with a public lane. Space in the backyard is only one part of the assessment: emergency access, trees, building separation, setbacks and utility connections can all affect feasibility.
Our first step is a lot assessment. We review zoning, access and utility connections, then explain the design options and approvals to consider. That gives you a practical basis for deciding whether to move ahead with a design. If a minor variance is required, we coordinate the application and include that approval step in the project plan.
Our planning range for garden-suite construction in Toronto is $250,000 to $500,000 or more. Size and finishes matter, but foundation work, excavation access, grading and the distance to utility connections can also make a substantial difference. Even a smaller suite needs a complete kitchen, bathroom and building systems, so floor area alone is not enough to estimate the cost.
We assess each laneway house in Toronto individually because access and site requirements can differ. Existing structures, lane access and servicing can change the work involved. We review the property and proposed design, establish the construction scope and provide a fixed price that reflects the actual project.
A garden suite in Toronto can have a maximum gross floor area of 60 square metres (about 646 square feet) for a one-storey suite and 120 square metres (about 1,292 square feet) overall. The suite must also have less gross floor area than the main residential building. A two-storey design must meet the applicable height and separation requirements. Not every lot can accommodate the maximum size.
A laneway home can be up to 10 metres long and eight metres wide. Setbacks, landscaping, access and other requirements can reduce what fits. We work out the usable size for your property, then plan the rooms around how the suite will be lived in.
For garden suites in Toronto, our initial planning guide is three to five months for design and permits, followed by six to 10 months for construction. That puts the combined stages at roughly nine to 15 months, with the actual schedule depending on the property and approvals. A laneway project needs its own timeline based on the design, access and servicing work.
Tree-related approvals, a minor variance, utility coordination or revisions during permit review can extend the early stages. We map these out before construction so you can see which decisions and approvals affect the start date. The construction schedule then covers the build through inspections and handover.
Yes. We retain the designers and coordinate the drawings, applications and inspections, starting with a review of your property and proposed design. Both types of home require a building permit, with plans that satisfy zoning, the Ontario Building Code and applicable tree regulations. If the design needs a minor variance from the zoning rules, Committee of Adjustment approval is required before the building permit can be issued. Emergency access is reviewed separately under the Building Code.
