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Port Hardy secondary suite and carriage house rules

Can I add a secondary suite or a carriage house in Port Hardy?

Port Hardy, British ColumbiaChecked against official textSources read 2026-11-08

Short answer

Yes, in some zones. Port Hardy's Zoning Bylaw allows a secondary suite in R-1, R-1s, R-2, RR-1 and GH-1 zones, and a carriage home in R-1, R-2, RR-1 and GH-1, but only one per parcel. It may not exceed 40% of the house's floor area or 90 m², and needs one parking space and a building permit.

Key facts

Secondary suite allowedYes, as an accessory use where the zone lists it: R-1, R-2, RR-1 and GH-1 (carriage home or secondary suite) and R-1s (secondary suite only). The suite must be completely enclosed within a single detached dwelling. Not listed in the R-3, RM-1 to RM-3 or commercial zones read.Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025, s. 6.1 R-1; Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025, s. 6.2 R-1s; Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025, s. 3.10(c)(1); Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025, s. 3.10(a) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
Official wording
Carriage Home Dwelling or Secondary Suite Dwelling (see sections 3.10 and 3.11)
Secondary Suite Dwelling (see section 3.10)
must be completely enclosed within a single detached dwelling;
Where permitted by the applicable zone, only one secondary suite dwelling is permitted per parcel.
Coach house or garden suite allowedCarriage homes (detached, completely enclosed within an accessory building) are allowed in R-1, R-2, RR-1 and GH-1, but not R-1s. Only one carriage home or one secondary suite per parcel, never both.Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025, s. 3.11; Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025, s. 6.1 R-1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
Official wording
A carriage home dwelling is not permitted on a parcel on which a secondary suite dwelling is located.
must be completely enclosed within an accessory building;
There shall be no more than one Secondary Suite Dwelling or one Carriage Home Dwelling per
LimitsOne suite per parcel. A secondary suite or carriage home may not exceed 40% of the house's gross floor area or 90 m², whichever is less. A suite in a new house requires a covenant against strata conversion. No owner-occupancy rule found.Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025, ss. 3.10(c)(2)-(3), 3.11(c)(2) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
Official wording
shall not exceed 40% of the gross floor area of the single detached dwelling or 90 square metres
prohibiting strata conversion of
only one secondary suite dwelling is permitted per parcel
ParkingOne off-street parking space on the same parcel for the exclusive use of the suite or carriage home (Table 4.2: 1 per dwelling).Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025, s. 3.10(c)(4) · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
Official wording
shall require that one off-street parking space be provided on the same parcel for the exclusive use
one off-street parking space be provided on the same parcel for the exclusive use of the carriage home
PermitsA building permit is needed to alter a building or finish an area to add a suite. The District's building permit page tells applicants to consult Building Code Section 9.37. A development permit is needed only on lots in an OCP development permit area; ask the District.Building Permits, Building Permits page; Building Permit Guide, September 2026, p. 2 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
Official wording
Secondary Suites Consult With Building Code Section 9.37
Building permits are necessary to erect, alter, add, move, demolish a building OR to install a new wood burning appliance
complete a previously unfinished area in an existing
make alterations, renovations or repairs to an existing
BylawZoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, ss. 3.10 (Secondary Suite Dwellings) and 3.11 (Carriage Home Dwellings), consolidated December 2025; Building Bylaw No. 11-2005.Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025, ss. 3.10, 3.11 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
Official wording
SECONDARY SUITE DWELLINGS
CARRIAGE HOME DWELLINGS
District of Port Hardy Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013

How it works

The Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013 allows a secondary suite in Port Hardy as an accessory use in the R-1, R-2, RR-1 and GH-1 zones, and in R-1s (secondary suite only). The suite must be completely enclosed within a single detached dwelling (s. 3.10). A carriage home, which is detached and completely enclosed within an accessory building, is allowed in R-1, R-2, RR-1 and GH-1 but not R-1s (s. 3.11). The R-3, RM-1 to RM-3 and commercial zones read do not list either.

Steps

  1. Confirm your zone (see the zoning-lookup answer).
  2. Plan within the limits: one suite or one carriage home per parcel, never both; no more than 40% of the house's gross floor area or 90 m², whichever is less; and one off-street parking space on the parcel for its exclusive use.
  3. For a suite in a new house, expect a covenant against strata conversion.
  4. Get a building permit to alter the building or finish an area. The District's Building Permits page tells applicants to consult Building Code Section 9.37. Call the Municipal Inspector at 250-949-6665.
  5. Ask the District whether your lot is in an Official Community Plan development permit area, which may require a development permit.

Good to know

  • The bylaw read has no owner-occupancy rule for suites.
  • The 2026 fee schedule has an $83 inspection fee for closing a suite.
  • The District's site links a 2014 Guide to Secondary Suites, but its text could not be read, so it is not relied on here.

Official forms and pages

The same question in other places

Port McNeill · Tahsis · Sayward · Gold River · Campbell River · Cumberland

Secondary suite and carriage house rules in British Columbia, by municipality →

Sources

  1. Zoning Bylaw No. 1010-2013, consolidated December 2025 (PDF), District of Port Hardy (read 2026-11-08)
  2. Building Permits, District of Port Hardy (read 2026-11-08)
  3. Building Permit Guide, September 2026 (PDF), District of Port Hardy (read 2026-11-08)
  4. Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 1183-2025 (PDF), District of Port Hardy (read 2026-11-08)
  5. User Rates and Fees Bylaw No. 1187-2026 (PDF), District of Port Hardy (read 2026-11-08)
  6. Municipal Ticket Information System Bylaw No. 01-2010, consolidated August 2014 (PDF), District of Port Hardy (read 2026-11-08)

Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text. How answers are checked.