Legal Basement Apartments, Garden Suites & Garage Conversions

Under Ontario's current planning rules, most urban residential lots may add additional residential units — commonly a basement or in-house suite plus a detached garden suite — on top of the main home, without a rezoning application. Exact allowances vary by municipality, and we confirm yours as the first step of every project.

The big ones: adequate ceiling height, proper egress (a way out in a fire, usually a large window or separate entrance), fire-rated separation between units, interconnected smoke and CO alarms, and a building permit with inspections. Many 'finished basements' fail several of these — we build to pass all of them, then register the unit with your city.

In practice, yes — a private entrance is how a basement suite meets egress rules and how tenants come and go. Separate entrances are our flagship service: we cut and build them in 3 days as part of a conversion.

A garden suite is a detached, self-contained home in your backyard (a laneway house is the laneway version). Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, and most GTA municipalities now permit them on qualifying lots, subject to lot size, setbacks, and servicing. We run the feasibility check before you spend a dollar on design.

A typical basement conversion runs 8–12 weeks of construction after permits, depending on scope. Garden suites take longer because of servicing and foundations. You get a real schedule with your fixed-price quote after a site visit.