Chilliwack home-based business rules
Can I run a business from my home?
Short answer
Usually yes. The City of Chilliwack allows an Accessory Home Occupation in most areas, and a Cottage Industry in most agricultural and rural hillside areas, but you need a City business licence ($100 a year) and your use must meet the Zoning Bylaw limits.
Key facts
| Allowed | Yes, as an Accessory Home Occupation, which the Zoning Bylaw lists as an ancillary permitted use in the agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial and park zones and most comprehensive development zones (the City says it is permitted in most areas). Cottage Industry is listed in the agricultural zones (except Agricultural Food Processing), the rural and hillside residential zones and some others; Accessory Home Industrial only in the M1-A (Residential Light Industrial) zone. A property's zone can be checked on the City Webmap.Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000, section 4.06, s. 4.06(3)(a), (5); Business Licences, City business licence page · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-05Official wordingAHO may be permitted in accordance with the regulations, as detailed below: COTTAGE INDUSTRY may be permitted subject to the following conditions: 6.01 AL (AGRICULTURAL LOWLAND) ZONE 8.01 R1-A (f) ACCESSORY HOME OCCUPATION (2) ACCESSORY HOME INDUSTRIAL Accessory Home Occupation (AHO) is permitted in most areas Cottage Industry is permitted in most agricultural and rural hillside areas Accessory Home Industrial is only permitted in the M1-A (Residential Light Industrial) zone |
|---|---|
| Business licence | Yes. Most home-based businesses need a business licence; the fee for a home occupation is $100 a year (Schedule A).Business Licences, City page; Business Licence Bylaw 1990, No. 1484, Schedule A item 1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-05Official wordingMost home-based businesses are required to have a business licence. Mobile, non-resident or home occupation $ 100.00 |
| Limits | Accessory Home Occupation (all dwelling types): no more than 1 employee; business and equipment no more than 30 m2 gross floor area; contained within a building or structure (except horticulture); no sign or exterior sign of the business except 1 sign under the Sign Bylaw; no additional traffic or parking demand beyond what suits a residential area; no wholesale or retail sales from the premises except ancillary, mobile, brokerage or internet sales. Personal services (and, in a single detached home, music or art instruction) limited to 2 persons at a time. Cottage Industry (lot of 0.4 ha or more): up to 2 employees, no more than 30% of the dwelling's floor area and no more than 100 m2, no sale of a commodity not produced on the premises, 1 sign under the Sign Bylaw, and adequate off-street parking so no vehicles park on-street.Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000, section 4.06, s. 4.06(3)(a)(i)-(ii), (5) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-05Official wordingthe use and all associated equipment shall not occupy more than a total GROSS FLOOR AREA of 30m2 (A) the use shall be conducted by no more than 1 employee except for 1 SIGN in accordance with the CITY “Sign Bylaw” the use shall not generate additional vehicular traffic or parking demand not instruction in arts for no more than 2 persons at a time a COTTAGE INDUSTRY use shall not be permitted on a LOT smaller than 0.4ha the use shall be conducted by no more than 2 employees (vii) adequate OFF-STREET PARKING shall be provided for the use such that no MOTOR VEHICLES (v) the use shall not involve the sale of a commodity not produced on the PREMISES |
| Businesses not allowed | The bylaw has no list of banned home businesses, but an Accessory Home Occupation office use excludes a doctor, dentist or medical professional, and on-premises wholesale or retail sales are barred except ancillary, mobile, brokerage or internet sales. Accessory Home Industrial is limited to listed activities (warehousing, manufacture of electrical and household appliances, furniture, sporting goods and clothing, sheet metal fabrication, small machinery and engine repair and sale) and only in the M1-A zone.Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000, section 4.06, s. 4.06(2), (3)(a)(i)(E), (3)(a)(ii)(B)(VI) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-05Official wording(VI) OFFICE of a self-employed person excluding a doctor, dentist or medical (f) The use shall be limited to the following activities: |
| Bylaw | Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 (s. 4.06(3) Accessory Home Occupation); Business Licence Bylaw 1990, No. 1484Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000, section 4.06, s. 4.06(3); Business Licence Bylaw 1990, No. 1484, s. 1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-05Official wordingmeans an INDUSTRIAL use operated as a business which is ANCILLARY to RESIDENTIAL USE; ACCESSORY HOME OCCUPATION (AHO) means a business use which is ANCILLARY to a RESIDENTIAL USE; "ZONING BYLAW 2020, 5000" TABLE OF CONTENTS "Business Licence Bylaw 1990, No. 1484" |
How it works
The City of Chilliwack sorts home businesses into three types under the Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000. An Accessory Home Occupation (AHO) is listed as allowed in the agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial and park zones and most comprehensive development zones; the City says it is permitted in most areas. Cottage Industry is listed in the agricultural zones (except Agricultural Food Processing), the rural and hillside residential zones and some others. Accessory Home Industrial is allowed only in the M1-A (Residential Light Industrial) zone. Check your property's zoning on the City Webmap first.
Steps
- Look up your property's zoning on the City Webmap and confirm your type of work is allowed.
- Apply for a business licence using the home-based or cottage industry form, online or by email to blinfo@chilliwack.com.
- Pay the fee ($100 a year for a home occupation) when the City emails you after reviewing your application.
Good to know
- AHO limits: no more than 1 employee, business and equipment no more than 30 m2, kept inside a building or structure (except horticulture), no extra traffic or parking demand, and no exterior sign of the business except one sign allowed under the City's Sign Bylaw.
- AHO examples allowed: crafts, an office (not a doctor, dentist or other medical professional), a food product workshop, personal services and music or art instruction for no more than 2 people at a time, and dog or cat grooming with no more than three animals and no boarding.
- No wholesale or retail sales from the home, except goods ancillary to the permitted use, mobile sales, brokerage or internet sales.
- Cottage Industry needs a lot of 0.4 ha or more, allows up to 2 employees, no more than 30% of the dwelling's floor area and no more than 100 m2, and enough off-street parking that no vehicles park on the street. It may only sell goods produced on the premises. In the Agricultural Land Reserve, the use must be a permitted farm use or kept inside the dwelling or structure, or be approved in writing by the Agricultural Land Commission.
- Accessory Home Industrial covers listed activities such as warehousing, furniture or clothing manufacture, sheet metal fabrication and small engine repair.
- The Fire Department may inspect a home used for a business.
Official forms and pages
The same question in other places
Harrison Hot Springs · Kent · Abbotsford · Mission · Hope · Township of Langley
Home-based business rules in British Columbia, by municipality →
Sources
- Business Licences, City of Chilliwack (read 2026-11-05)
- Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 (PDF), section 4.06 (read 2026-11-05)
- Business Licence Bylaw 1990, No. 1484 (PDF) (read 2026-11-05)
- Home-based business licence form (PDF), City of Chilliwack (read 2026-11-05)
- Cottage Industry licence form (PDF), City of Chilliwack (read 2026-11-05)
- Fire inspections, City of Chilliwack (read 2026-11-05)
Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 5 of 5 facts was matched to the official text. How answers are checked.