Edmonton · Alberta — checked 29 August 2026
Backyard housing in Edmonton
Edmonton calls a detached home in your rear yard backyard housing. If you have been reading about garden suites or garage suites, those were the terms under the old Zoning Bylaw 12800, which was repealed on 1 January 2024. A great deal of the advice still online describes rules that are no longer law.
Under the current bylaw, backyard housing is a permitted use across Edmonton’s residential zones. Permitted means that if your application meets the rules, the city must approve it rather than weighing it on discretion.
01 — What actually changed
Three changes matter more than the rest. Backyard housing is no longer treated as an accessory building, so it can be built on a vacant lot before any other home, may be eligible to convert to a condominium, and may itself contain a secondary suite.
The old restriction that allowed only one of a secondary suite or a garden suite on a lot went with the repealed bylaw. Both are now possible, and the city’s own permit process is set up for applications with or without a secondary suite.
Parking minimums are gone entirely. Edmonton removed on-site parking requirements city-wide in 2020, so there is no parking stall you are obliged to build for a backyard house.
02 — The numbers
What Section 6.10 requires
These are the backyard-housing rules themselves. Your underlying zone adds its own site requirements on top, so confirm your specific zone on the city’s zoning map before designing anything.
| Maximum height | 6.8 m |
| Maximum height where the rear lot line abuts a residential site with a height limit of 12.0 m or less | 4.3 m |
| Maximum site coverage | 20% |
| Maximum second-storey floor area per dwelling | 60.0 m², or 70.0 m² where it meets the bylaw's inclusive design requirements |
| Maximum length of any second-storey building wall | 15.0 m |
| Minimum setback | 1.2 m |
| Minimum rear setback abutting an alley, where there is no garage or the garage door does not face the alley | 0.6 m |
| Minimum distance to other principal buildings on the site | 3.0 m |
| Minimum distance between backyard housing buildings on the site | 0.9 m |
| Soft landscaping to remain (RS and RSF zones) | 30% of total lot area |
| On-site parking minimum | None. Edmonton removed parking minimums city-wide in 2020 |
One easy thing to get wrong: Edmonton reduced the maximum height in the RS zone to 9.5 m as of 1 August 2026. That applies to the principal house on the lot, not to backyard housing, whose limits are the 6.8 m and 4.3 m above.
03 — Permits and provincial rules
You need both a development permit and a building permit. Apply for them together if you like, but construction waits until the development permit is approved and the building permit is issued. An occupancy permit follows once the mandatory inspections pass.
Two provincial requirements catch people out. Every new home in Alberta needs New Home Warranty coverage or a valid exemption, and the builder needs a valid builder’s licence, both at the building permit stage. A homeowner can apply for a single-unit backyard house permit themselves; multi-unit backyard houses must be applied for by a professional contractor.
On the factory-built side, Alberta is straightforward: the National Building Code 2023 Alberta Edition treats an off-site constructed building certified to CSA A277, by an organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada, as complying with the code. That is the same standard British Columbia uses, which is why a home built to it in our Surrey factory does not need a different certification path to be set in Edmonton. Building services still need the usual professional assurance or inspection.
04 — Common questions
Is it called a garden suite or backyard housing in Edmonton?
Backyard housing. Edmonton retired the terms garden suite and garage suite when Zoning Bylaw 20001 replaced Bylaw 12800 on 1 January 2024. The city's own guidance says the broader term reflects the wider range of housing the new regulations allow. A lot of advice online still uses the old vocabulary, and the old zone names RF1, RF2 and RF3, which no longer exist.
Can you have both a secondary suite and a backyard house on one lot?
Yes. The old rule allowing only one of the two belonged to the repealed bylaw. Under the current bylaw a backyard house can even contain a secondary suite itself, and the city's permit process explicitly covers applications with or without one.
Do you need a development permit and a building permit?
Both. The development permit confirms the project is allowed under the Zoning Bylaw; the building permit covers safety and construction under the Alberta Safety Codes Act. You can apply for them together, but construction only starts once the development permit is approved and the building permit is issued.
Does Alberta accept CSA A277 factory certification?
Yes, and directly. The National Building Code 2023 Alberta Edition states that off-site constructed buildings certified to CSA A277 by an organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada are considered to comply with the code. It is the same certification standard used in British Columbia, which is why a factory-built home can cross provinces without a different certification path.
Is backyard housing an accessory building?
No, not any more, and the change matters. Because it is no longer accessory, backyard housing can be built on a vacant lot before any other home, may be eligible to convert to a condominium, and may contain a secondary suite.
05 — Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the City of Edmonton or the Government of Alberta directly, read on 29 August 2026. The zoning bylaw is a living document: check the current text before you rely on any number here, and where the city’s guide and the live bylaw disagree, the live bylaw wins.
- City of Edmonton — Backyard Housing
- Zoning Bylaw 20001 — Section 6.10 Backyard Housing
- Zoning Bylaw 20001 — Backyard Housing definition
- Zoning Bylaw 20001 — RS Small Scale Residential Zone
- City of Edmonton — Backyard Housing How-to Guide (PDF)
- City of Edmonton — Open Option Parking
- City of Edmonton — Zoning Bylaw (12800 repealed 1 Jan 2024)
- Alberta Municipal Affairs — STANDATA 23-BCV-002, off-site constructed buildings (PDF)
- Safety Codes Council — National Building Code 2023 Alberta Edition
Thinking about a backyard house in Edmonton?
We build to CSA A277 in Surrey and deliver to Alberta. First step is confirming what your lot allows.