---
title: Oak Bay secondary suite and carriage house rules
question: "Can I add a secondary suite or a carriage house in Oak Bay?"
place: Oak Bay, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/oak-bay
category: Building, renovating and your property
owner: municipal
owner_body: District of Oak Bay
sources_read: 2026-11-06
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/oak-bay/secondary-suite/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/oak-bay/secondary-suite.json"
---

# Oak Bay secondary suite and carriage house rules

**Question:** Can I add a secondary suite or a carriage house in Oak Bay?

**Short answer:** Yes. Oak Bay allows one secondary suite inside the main building in residential zones that allow single-family homes, and the owner must live in the house or the suite. A detached accessory dwelling unit is also a permitted secondary use in the R-1 zone. A building permit is required.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (District of Oak Bay, https://www.oakbay.ca)  
**Cost:** Building permit fees are set by Bylaw 4845. See the building-permit-fees answer.  
**How long:** No fixed time is stated. The District's building permit page says to allow several weeks.  
**Where:**
- Email: Building and Planning Department, inspections@oakbay.ca
- Phone: Building and Planning Department, 250-598-2042 ext. 7496
- In person: Municipal Hall, 2167 Oak Bay Avenue, Victoria, BC V8R 1G2

## Key facts

- **Secondary suite allowed:** Inside the principal building, in all residential zones that allow single-family homes. The suite must be wholly within an integral part of the principal building.
  - Source: [Secondary Suites, Where Are Secondary Suites Allowed?](https://www.oakbay.ca/building-infrastructure/building-construction/secondary-suites/)
  - Official wording: "Secondary suites are permitted in all residential zones that allow single-family homes."
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3531 (PDF, consolidated), s. 4.2.13(1), s. 6.1.2](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3531-Oak-Bay-Zoning-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Shall be wholly contained within an integral part of a Principal Building." … "Secondary Suite use conforming to 4.2.13"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Coach house or garden suite allowed:** A detached 'accessory dwelling unit' is a permitted secondary use in R-1 (and other residential zones listed in the zoning bylaw). It sits in a building smaller than the house and may be above a detached garage.
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3531 (PDF, consolidated), s. 6.1.2(1)(c), definition](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3531-Oak-Bay-Zoning-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf)
  - Official wording: "(c) Accessory dwelling unit" … "and is located in a building smaller than a Principal Building located on the same lot, and may be situated above a detached garage."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Limits:** One secondary suite per principal dwelling unit. The owner must live in either the main unit or the suite and file an Owner's Declaration. No breezeway or enclosed hallway link; no boarding use in the suite.
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3531 (PDF, consolidated), s. 4.2.13](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3531-Oak-Bay-Zoning-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf)
  - Official wording: "No more than one Secondary Suite is permitted per principal dwelling unit." … "occupy either the primary dwelling unit or the Secondary Suite dwelling unit as" … "Shall not be connected to the primary dwelling unit by a breezeway or enclosed" … "A Secondary Suite shall not contain a Boarding use."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Parking:** No extra parking. In R-1 to R-3 a lot with two or more dwelling units (house plus suite) needs 1 space per unit, so 2 in all, the same as a house alone. Each unit also needs an outdoor, labelled energized outlet for an electric vehicle, scooter or bike.
  - Source: [Secondary Suites, Secondary Suite Regulations](https://www.oakbay.ca/building-infrastructure/building-construction/secondary-suites/)
  - Official wording: "No extra parking is required, but the home must have an outdoor, labeled, and powered outlet for electric vehicles, scooters, or bikes"
  - Source: [Parking Facilities Bylaw No. 3540 (PDF, consolidated), Schedule A, A.1 (R-1 to R-3)](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/3540-Parking-Facilities-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Two (2) parking spaces per one-unit residential dwelling unit." … "one parking space is required per dwelling unit where two or more dwelling units are located on a lot." … "Notwithstanding Section A.1 (a) one parking space is required per dwelling unit where two or more dwelling units are located on a lot." … "an outdoor, labelled energized outlet"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Permits:** A building permit is needed to build a new suite or legalize an existing one. The owner submits an Owner's Declaration with the application. After inspections pass, the District issues an Occupancy Permit. A suite is legal only with approved building, plumbing and electrical permits.
  - Source: [Secondary Suites, Secondary Suites; How do you get a permit?](https://www.oakbay.ca/building-infrastructure/building-construction/secondary-suites/)
  - Official wording: "You will need a building permit to build a new suite or to legalize one that was built without approval." … "Submit a Building Permit Application at Municipal Hall (include an Owner’s Declaration Form)" … "Once everything is approved, an Occupancy Permit is issued"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Zoning Bylaw No. 3531 (s. 4.2.13, zone regulations); Building and Plumbing Bylaw No. 4247; Parking Facilities Bylaw No. 3540
  - Source: [Zoning Bylaw No. 3531 (PDF, consolidated), title; s. 4.2.13](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3531-Oak-Bay-Zoning-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf)
  - Official wording: "ZONING BYLAW 3531" … "A Secondary Suite use, where permitted, must conform to the regulations of this"
  - Source: [Parking Facilities Bylaw No. 3540 (PDF, consolidated), title](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/3540-Parking-Facilities-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Parking Facilities Bylaw No. 3540, 1986"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

Under [Zoning Bylaw No. 3531](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3531-Oak-Bay-Zoning-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf), Oak Bay permits one secondary suite per principal dwelling unit, in all residential zones that allow single-family homes. The suite must be wholly within an integral part of the principal building. A detached "accessory dwelling unit" is a separate permitted secondary use in the R-1 zone (and other residential zones the bylaw lists). It sits in a building smaller than the house and may be above a detached garage.

## Steps

1. Confirm your zone (see the zoning-lookup answer).
2. Apply for a building permit by emailing inspections@oakbay.ca, with an Owner's Declaration.
3. Build to the BC Building Code, with approved building, plumbing and electrical permits.
4. After inspections pass, the District issues an Occupancy Permit. A suite is legal only once it has these approvals.

## Good to know

- The owner must live in the main unit or the suite. No breezeway or enclosed hallway may link them, and no boarding use is allowed in the suite.
- Where a dwelling has both a suite and a boarding use, no more than six unrelated people may live in the unit and suite combined.
- Parking: the District's page says no extra parking is needed. The Parking Facilities Bylaw asks for 2 spaces for a one-unit house in R-1 to R-3, and 1 per unit where a lot has two or more units. Each unit also needs an outdoor energized outlet. Confirm what applies to you.
- In R-1, a detached unit is limited to 2 storeys, 6.0 m building height and 7.5 m roof height. Rear and interior side setbacks are 3.0 m and the exterior side setback is 6.0 m.
- No size limit for a suite was found in the bylaw or on the District's page.

## What you'll need

- Owner's Declaration, submitted with the building permit application

## Official forms and pages

- [Secondary Suites, District of Oak Bay](https://www.oakbay.ca/building-infrastructure/building-construction/secondary-suites/)
- [Zoning Bylaw No. 3531 (PDF)](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3531-Oak-Bay-Zoning-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf)

## Related questions

- [Oak Bay building permits: when you need one and how to apply](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/oak-bay/building-permit.md)
- [Oak Bay zoning: find your zone and what it allows](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/oak-bay/zoning-lookup.md)
- [Oak Bay short-term rental rules (Airbnb, Vrbo)](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/oak-bay/short-term-rental.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Secondary suite and carriage house rules in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/secondary-suite.md)
- [Victoria](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/victoria/secondary-suite.md)
- [Saanich](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/saanich/secondary-suite.md)
- [Esquimalt](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/esquimalt/secondary-suite.md)
- [View Royal](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/view-royal/secondary-suite.md)
- [Colwood](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/colwood/secondary-suite.md)
- [Langford](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/langford/secondary-suite.md)

## Sources

- [Secondary Suites, District of Oak Bay](https://www.oakbay.ca/building-infrastructure/building-construction/secondary-suites/) (read 2026-11-06)
- [Zoning Bylaw No. 3531 (PDF, consolidated), District of Oak Bay](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/3531-Oak-Bay-Zoning-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf) (read 2026-11-06)
- [Parking Facilities Bylaw No. 3540 (PDF, consolidated), District of Oak Bay](https://www.oakbay.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/3540-Parking-Facilities-Bylaw-Consolidated.pdf) (read 2026-11-06)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with District of Oak Bay. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/oak-bay/secondary-suite/_