---
title: Highlands home-based business rules
question: "Can I run a business from my home in Highlands?"
place: Highlands, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/highlands
category: Starting and running a business
owner: municipal
owner_body: District of Highlands
sources_read: 2026-11-08
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/home-based-business/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/home-based-business.json"
---

# Highlands home-based business rules

**Question:** Can I run a business from my home in Highlands?

**Short answer:** Yes. In the District of Highlands a home-based business is a permitted use in the Rural Residential, Rural and Greenbelt zones and a few others, if the owner lives on the property. The District does not issue home-based business licences, so none is required.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (District of Highlands, https://www.highlands.ca)  
**Cost:** No District licence or fee. An optional Intermunicipal Business Licence is $100 a year.  
**How long:** Not applicable; the District does not issue a licence.  
**Where:**
- Phone: Municipal Planner, 250-474-1773
- Email: Municipal Planner, lbeckett@highlands.ca
- In person: Municipal Hall, 1980 Millstream Road, Victoria, BC V9B 6H1

## Key facts

- **Allowed:** Yes. A permitted use in the Rural Residential (RR1-5, 7, 8, 13-16), Rural (R1-R7, not R3D) and Greenbelt (GB1, GB1A, GB2) zones, and in P3, Am1, Am2 and CD2. The owner or operator must live on the property. Check your zone.
  - Source: [Business Licences, Business Licences page](https://www.highlands.ca/local-government/business-licences)
  - Official wording: "Home-based businesses are permitted in the District of Highlands and do not require a business licence."
  - Source: [Highlands Zoning Bylaw No. 100, 1998, s. 6.1.1 (RR1) and s. 3.6(1)(a)](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1622)
  - Official wording: "Home-based business" … "The owner or operator of a home-based business shall have their principal residence on" … "d) Home-based business"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Business licence:** No business licence is required. The District does not issue home-based business licences. An Intermunicipal Business Licence ($100 a year) is only for a business already operating from Highlands premises that also works in other participating CRD municipalities.
  - Source: [Business Licences, Business Licences page](https://www.highlands.ca/local-government/business-licences)
  - Official wording: "Home-based businesses are permitted in the District of Highlands and do not require a business licence." … "The annual fee for an Intermunicipal Business Licence is $100 and may be purchased at the District Office."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Limits:** Wholly inside the dwelling (lots of 5,000 m² or more may also use an accessory building, up to 70 m² total, 20 m from the front lot line, 10 m from side and rear); one non-resident employee; 8 vehicle trips a day; 1 parking space (1 more for an accessory building); no outdoor storage.
  - Source: [Highlands Zoning Bylaw No. 100, 1998, s. 3.6(1)(b) to (f), (k) and s. 3.6(6)](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1622)
  - Official wording: "not more than one person who does not reside on the lot on which that home-based business is" … "on a lot of 5000m² or more in area" … "shall not exceed 70 square metres (753 sq. ft.)" … "must be sited at least 20 metres from the front lot line and 10 metres from" … "is permitted only within a dwelling unit or" … "shall not generate more than eight (8) departures or arrivals of" … "for each principal dwelling unit" … "used for a home-based business" … "for accessory buildings used for a"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Businesses not allowed:** No list of banned business types. The rules bar a business that causes noise, odour, heat, smoke, dust, glare, vibration or electrical interference detectable off the lot, more than one unlicensed vehicle being repaired, and any business in an accessory dwelling unit.
  - Source: [Highlands Zoning Bylaw No. 100, 1998, s. 3.6(1)(l), (m) and s. 3.11(3)](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1622)
  - Official wording: "shall not allow or permit to be" … "any noise, odour, heat, smoke, dust, glare, vibration or electrical interference which" … "An accessory dwelling unit must not be used for a home-based business."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Bylaw:** Highlands Zoning Bylaw No. 100, 1998, s. 3.6 (home-based business regulations)
  - Source: [Highlands Zoning Bylaw No. 100, 1998, Title page and s. 3.6](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1622)
  - Official wording: "Highlands Zoning Bylaw No. 100, 1998 (consolidated)" … "Home-Based Business"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08

## How it works

Home-based businesses are regulated in section 3.6 of the [Highlands Zoning Bylaw No. 100](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1622). A home-based business is a permitted use in the Rural Residential (RR1 to RR5, RR7, RR8, RR13 to RR16), Rural (R1 to R7, not R3D) and Greenbelt (GB1, GB1A, GB2) zones, and in P3, Am1, Am2 and CD2. The owner or operator must live on the property. Check your zone, and note that RR8 and RR14 bar home-based business on bare land strata common property.

No business licence is required. The District does not issue home-based business licences. An Intermunicipal Business Licence ($100 a year) is only for a business already operating from Highlands premises that also works in other participating CRD municipalities.

The limits: the business is wholly inside the dwelling (lots of 5,000 m² or more may also use an accessory building, up to 70 m² total, 20 m from the front lot line and 10 m from the side and rear lot lines); one non-resident employee; 8 vehicle trips a day; 1 parking space (1 more for an accessory building); and no outdoor storage.

## Steps

1. Confirm your zone allows a home-based business (call the Municipal Planner).
2. Check the limits above.
3. Start your business. No District licence is needed.

## Good to know

- There is no list of banned business types. The rules bar a business that causes noise, odour, heat, smoke, dust, glare, vibration or electrical interference detectable off the lot, more than one unlicensed vehicle being repaired, and any business in an accessory dwelling unit.
- Cannabis production and sales are prohibited unless a zone expressly permits them.
- The bylaw has no home-based business sign rule.

## Official forms and pages

- [Business Licences, District of Highlands](https://www.highlands.ca/local-government/business-licences)
- [Highlands Zoning Bylaw No. 100 (PDF)](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1622)

## Related questions

- [Highlands business licences: who needs one, fees and how to apply](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/business-licence.md)
- [Highlands secondary suite and carriage house rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/secondary-suite.md)
- [Highlands short-term rental rules (Airbnb, Vrbo)](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/short-term-rental.md)
- [Highlands zoning: find your zone and what it allows](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/zoning-lookup.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Home-based business rules in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/home-based-business.md)
- [Langford](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/langford/home-based-business.md)
- [View Royal](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/view-royal/home-based-business.md)
- [Central Saanich](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/central-saanich/home-based-business.md)
- [Colwood](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/colwood/home-based-business.md)
- [Esquimalt](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/esquimalt/home-based-business.md)
- [Saanich](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/saanich/home-based-business.md)

## Sources

- [Highlands Zoning Bylaw No. 100, 1998 (PDF)](https://www.highlands.ca/media/1622) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Business Licences, District of Highlands](https://www.highlands.ca/local-government/business-licences) (read 2026-11-08)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 5 of 5 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with District of Highlands. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/highlands/home-based-business/_