Additional residential units

Secondary suites and garden units, designed and permitted.

Add a basement apartment, a secondary suite or a garden suite. We check what your lot allows, design the unit and prepare the permit drawings.

Contemporary living room

How we serve you

What your lot allows

We review your municipality's zoning for additional units before design starts.

A real home

Separate entrance, light, layout and storage, designed so the unit is pleasant to live in.

Fire separations and exits

The code requirements between units, coordinated into the permit drawings.

What's included

Consultation and zoning review, layouts and design options, design development in 3D, Ontario Building Code (Part 9) analysis, sealed permit drawings, submission to your municipality and responses to its review comments.

Three packages: Design, Design & Permit, and Design, Permit & 3D Access. Compare the packages.

From drawings to design

Concept visualization Design
Plan
PlanDesign

Stand-in images: your own project photos replace these in Admin → Pages.

Additional Residential Units projects

What will it cost?

An indicative range for your project, from the same rates as our packages.

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Not sure which package fits?

Answer a few quick visual questions about your project and get your recommended package and the right consultation.

How it works

  1. Consultation

    We talk through your goals, your property and your budget, online, at our office or on site.

  2. Written proposal

    You get the scope, the package and the fee in writing, and accept it online when you're ready.

  3. Design

    Concept options, layouts and design development, reviewed with you in 3D.

  4. Code analysis & permit drawings

    Ontario Building Code (Part 9) analysis and a complete permit drawing package.

  5. Permit submission

    We submit to your municipality and respond to its review comments.

Safe to commit

Every project starts with a consultation. Cancel at least 48 hours before a paid consultation and within 15 days of payment for a 75% refund, or move it to a new time free of charge. Your fee for the design is set out in a written proposal before any work starts, and you accept it online only when you're ready. Unless your proposal says otherwise, a cancellation requested within 15 days of payment receives a 75% refund of the amount paid for work not yet started.

Questions & answers

How many units can I have on my lot?

Many Ontario municipalities now allow up to three residential units on most residential lots, subject to local zoning and servicing. We check your property's rules at the consultation.

Garden suite or basement unit?

It depends on your lot, your budget and how you want to use the space. We can compare both at the consultation.

Do you build the project?

No. Alayan Design-Build Inc. provides BCIN small building design and permit services only. Construction, contracting and site supervision are not included, so you're free to choose your own builder.

What does “Part 9” mean?

Part 9 of the Ontario Building Code covers houses and small buildings: up to 3 storeys and up to 600 m² of building area, for uses such as homes, offices, shops and low-hazard workshops. That's the work we design and prepare permits for.

Are municipal permit fees included?

No. Building permit fees, development charges and fees from other agencies are paid to them directly. Packages with permit drawings include a permit administration fee of 5% of the municipal permit fees, invoiced once those fees are known.

What is the scope of your work?

Our work stays within the scope of a BCIN-qualified designer for small buildings under the Ontario Building Code (Part 9): design, code analysis and permit drawings. If your project also needs another professional, such as a structural engineer or a surveyor, you retain them directly; coordinating other professionals isn't part of our services.

Next step

Ready to talk it through?

Book a consultation and we'll confirm the scope and set out your fee in a written proposal.