---
title: Salt Spring Island home-based business rules
question: "Can I run a business from my home on Salt Spring?"
place: Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/salt-spring-island
category: Starting and running a business
owner: other
sources_read: 2026-11-05
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/salt-spring-island/home-based-business/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/salt-spring-island/home-based-business.json"
---

# Salt Spring Island home-based business rules

**Question:** Can I run a business from my home on Salt Spring?

**Short answer:** Yes, within limits. On Salt Spring Island, the Islands Trust Land Use Bylaw 355 allows a home-based business as an accessory use if you live on the lot, work indoors, stay within the size and staff limits, and the work is on the bylaw's list. Check that your zone allows it.

**Who handles it:** Another public body  
**Where:**
- In person: Islands Trust Salt Spring Island office, Unit 4, 121 McPhillips Avenue, Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 2T6
- Phone: Islands Trust Salt Spring Island office, 250-537-9144
- Email: Islands Trust Salt Spring Island office, ssiinfo@islandstrust.bc.ca

## Key facts

- **Allowed:** Allowed as an accessory use to a home, indoors in the dwelling, seasonal cottage or an enclosed accessory building (pottery kilns excepted), only for occupations on the bylaw's list. The zone tables list it as an accessory use in residential, rural, forestry and agricultural zones; check your zone. The operator must live on the premises.
  - Source: [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13, s. 3.13.1](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)
  - Official wording: "Home-based businesses are accessory to residential use of a lot and must be" … "carried out indoors within a permitted dwelling unit, seasonal cottage or other" … "Home-based business use subject to Section 3.13"
  - Source: [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13, s. 3.13.6](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)
  - Official wording: "Only the following occupations may be conducted as a home-based business:"
  - Source: [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13, s. 3.13.3](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)
  - Official wording: "A home-based business must be operated by a person permanently residing on"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Business licence:** Not confirmed. Not found in the official sources that were read.
- **Limits:** Floor area up to 50% of the dwelling and accessory buildings, max 70 m² (lots 1.2 ha or less) or 150 m² (larger). Max 3 non-resident employees (4 on larger lots). No exterior sign of the business except signs the bylaw permits. Parking on the lot, screened, 3 m from side lines, 7.6 m from front and rear. Noise under 40 dB beyond the lot.
  - Source: [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13, s. 3.13.2](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)
  - Official wording: "The total floor area used for home-based business use on any lot must not" … "maximum of 70 square metres for lots that are 1.2 ha or less in area and 150 square" … "three additional persons (or full-time equivalency) not residing in the dwelling" … "There must be no exterior indication of the existence of the home-based" … "with the exception of signs permitted by"
  - Source: [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13, s. 3.13.4](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)
  - Official wording: "There must be no exterior indication of the existence of the home-based" … "located at least 3 m from any side"
  - Source: [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13, s. 3.13.5(a)](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)
  - Official wording: "No home-based business may create noise that exceeds 40 dB beyond"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Businesses not allowed:** Anything not on the s. 3.13.6 list. The list excludes auto body repair; automobile repair only on lots over 2 ha (one bay, max 25 m², screened). Boarding houses are barred in Agriculture 2, Rural Watershed 1 and 2, Rural Islet and Forestry 2 zones.
  - Source: [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13, s. 3.13.6](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)
  - Official wording: "Only the following occupations may be conducted as a home-based business:" … "Repair of automobiles, excluding auto body repair and provided such" … "repair takes place on a property greater than 2 ha in area" … "Boarding houses, except that this use is not permitted in the Agriculture"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (1999), s. 3.13 Home-Based Businesses (Islands Trust).
  - Source: [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13, s. 3.13](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)
  - Official wording: "3.12 ACCESSORY BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES ........................................................................... 31 3.13 HOME-BASED BUSINESSES .................................................................................................... 32 3.14 SEASONAL COTTAGES............................................................................................................ 35" … "Salt Spring Island Local Trust Committee 106 Updated June 2026 Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (Consolidated)" … "(19) Despite Section 3.13 - Home-Based Businesses, Subsection 3.13.6 - bed and"
  - Source: [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13, s. 2.1.1](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)
  - Official wording: "The provisions of this Bylaw apply to that portion of Salt Spring Island Local Trust" … "Area that lies within Electoral Area “F” of the Capital Regional District"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

Salt Spring Island is not a municipality, and zoning is set by the Islands Trust, not the CRD. [Land Use Bylaw No. 355](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/) s. 3.13 allows a home-based business as an accessory use to a home. It must be indoors, in the dwelling, a seasonal cottage or an enclosed accessory building (pottery kilns excepted), and only for occupations on the bylaw's list (s. 3.13.6). The operator must live on the premises.

The zone tables list it as an accessory use in residential, rural, forestry and agricultural zones, so check your zone with the Trust. Farm operations are not limited by s. 3.13.

## Steps

1. Confirm you live on the lot where the business operates.
2. Check your work is on the allowed list in s. 3.13.6. The list excludes auto body repair. Automobile repair is allowed only on lots over 2 ha (one bay, up to 25 m², screened).
3. Keep within the limits below.
4. Call the Islands Trust at 250-537-9144 to confirm your zone allows it.

## Good to know

- Floor area: up to 50% of the dwelling and accessory buildings, to a maximum of 70 m² on lots of 1.2 ha or less, and 150 m² on larger lots.
- Staff: up to 3 non-resident employees, or 4 on larger lots.
- No exterior sign of the business except signs the bylaw permits (see s. 6.1).
- Parking must be on the lot and screened, 3 m from side lines and 7.6 m from front and rear lines. The minimum is 1 space per non-resident employee.
- Noise must be under 40 dB beyond the lot. No vibration, smoke, dust, odour, litter, glare or contamination may be detectable outside the lot.
- Boarding houses are barred in the Agriculture 2, Rural Watershed 1 and 2, Rural Islet and Forestry 2 zones.
- Agricultural Land Reserve lots have extra provincial limits.
- We found no licence or fee for a home-based business. See the business-licence answer.

## Official forms and pages

- [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355, section 3.13 (PDF)](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/)

## Related questions

- [Salt Spring Island business licences: who needs one, fees and how to apply](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/salt-spring-island/business-licence.md)
- [Salt Spring Island zoning: find your zone and what it allows](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/salt-spring-island/zoning-lookup.md)
- [Salt Spring Island short-term rental rules (Airbnb, Vrbo)](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/salt-spring-island/short-term-rental.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Home-based business rules in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/home-based-business.md)

## Sources

- [Salt Spring Island Land Use Bylaw No. 355 (PDF, consolidated June 2026), section 3.13](https://islandstrust.bc.ca/document/ssi-ltc-bylaw-no-355/) (read 2026-11-05)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 4 of 5 facts was matched to the official text; 1 could not be confirmed. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with any government. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/salt-spring-island/home-based-business/_