Straight answers about adding homes.

Costs8 min read How Much Does a Basement Suite Cost to Build in Alberta and BC? The same basement suite is priced differently in Alberta and BC — and the gap is mostly tax and fees rather than construction. Read the article Costs7 min read How Much Does a Fourplex Cost to Build? A fourplex costs less per unit than any smaller project — which is why the economics improve as you add doors, up to the point financing changes. Read the article Costs7 min read How Much Does It Cost to Build a Basement Apartment? The cheapest legal unit you can add is usually the one under your feet — provided the ceiling height is there. Read the article Costs8 min read How Much Does an ADU Cost in Canada? "ADU" covers everything from a basement conversion to a new detached home — and the gap between those two is wider than most people expect. Read the article Costs8 min read How Much Does a Laneway House Cost? Laneway houses cost more per square foot than almost anything else you can build — because everything has to come down a lane. Read the article Costs8 min read How Much Does a Garden Suite Cost in Canada? Three things drive the price that most estimates leave out — servicing runs, site access, and whether your soil needs a deeper foundation. Read the article Grants & financing8 min read How to Apply for a Secondary Suite Incentive Program Suite incentives pay against a legal, registered suite — and applying in the wrong order forfeits the money. The sequence that matters. Read the article Grants & financing9 min read How to Report Rental Income From a Basement Suite Renting part of your own home changes what you can deduct — and can change how your principal residence exemption works years later. Read the article Grants & financing9 min read Should I Refinance or Sell My House? Selling converts your equity once. Refinancing to add a unit converts it into income you keep. Four factors decide which is right. Read the article Grants & financing8 min read The HST Rebate on New Rental Homes in Ontario Ottawa removed the GST on new purpose-built rentals — but there's a four-unit gate most homeowners adding one suite will never clear. Read the article Grants & financing8 min read Calgary’s Secondary Suite Incentive: Status and How to Apply Calgary's suite incentive is waitlisted as of June 2026. What it pays, who qualifies, and whether waiting for it is worth the delay. Read the article Grants & financing9 min read Garden Suite Grants in Ontario: What Exists and What Doesn’t Ontario has no province-wide garden suite grant — but it does have a fee exemption that usually saves more than a grant would. Read the article Grants & financing8 min read Secondary Suite Grants in BC: Why the $40,000 Programme Ended BC's $40,000 forgivable suite loan closed in March 2025. Here's why it ended, what BC gave homeowners instead, and two costly traps. Read the article Grants & financing8 min read Secondary Suite Grants in Alberta: What’s Actually Available Alberta has no provincial suite grant. Calgary's is waitlisted, Edmonton has none — but Alberta's real advantage isn't a grant at all. Read the article Grants & financing8 min read Is There a Secondary Suite Grant in Canada? The Honest Answer Most secondary suite grants are closed, waitlisted or cancelled. Here's a dated status table of what's actually live across Canada right now. Read the article Grants & financing10 min read The Canada Secondary Suite Loan Program: What Happened to the $80,000 Loan The $80,000 federal secondary suite loan was cancelled and never launched. Here's what actually exists to fund a suite in Canada right now. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read Can I Convert My Garage Into a Granny Flat? A garage is the cheapest starting point for a backyard home — but only if the slab, the height and the servicing cooperate. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read How to Legally Convert a House Into a Duplex Converting a single-family house into two legal units is now permitted almost everywhere. The work is in the code compliance, not the permission. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read Can I Build an ADU on My Property? Four things about your lot decide it — and you can check three of them yourself before speaking to anyone. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read How Many Exits Does a Basement Apartment Need? Egress fails more basement suites than any other requirement — and the answer is more nuanced than "two doors." Read the article Permits & legality8 min read Legal Secondary Suites in Calgary: What “Legal” Actually Means In Calgary a legal suite has a precise meaning — it's on the City's public register. Anyone can look it up, including your buyer. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read Secondary Suite Permits in Calgary: The Process Development permit, then building permit, then inspections, then registration. Knowing the order is what stops a project stalling halfway. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read Secondary Suite Requirements in BC BC's legislation says you may build. The BC Building Code and your municipality decide whether what you built is legal — two different questions. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read What Makes a Basement Apartment Illegal in Ontario? Ontario already permits the unit — so an illegal basement apartment here is almost always a code or permit failure, not a zoning one. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read What Makes a Basement Suite Illegal? A suite is usually illegal for one of four boring, fixable reasons — and none of them is that the city has something against basements. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read How to Make a Basement Apartment Legal in Ontario Ontario already lets you add the unit. Legalising a basement apartment is a code-and-permit exercise with a finite list of requirements. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read Is My Basement Suite Legal? How to Check There's a definitive way to find out — one search of the municipal records plus a four-item physical check you can do yourself. Read the article Permits & legality9 min read Calgary Secondary Suite Requirements: The Full Checklist Calgary's suite rules are a short list plus registration — and the City keeps a public register, so anyone can check a suite's legality. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read Building Permit Costs in Toronto: What to Budget Toronto's permit fee is published and predictable. The costs that surprise homeowners are stacked around it — and one big one has been waived. Read the article Permits & legality7 min read How Much Does a Building Permit Cost in Canada? The permit fee is rarely the number that matters. It's the studies, drawings and charges stacked around it that decide what approval really costs. Read the article Permits & legality8 min read Development Permit vs Building Permit: What’s the Difference? One approves what you may build, the other approves how you build it. Confusing them is why homeowners think a project is approved when it isn't. Read the article Regional words7 min read What Counts as a Secondary Suite? The Four-Part Test A finished basement with a bedroom and a bar fridge isn't a secondary suite. Four features draw the line — here's how to check yours. Read the article Regional words7 min read What Is a Basement Apartment Called? Canada’s Regional Words The same basement rental has five names across Canada. Using the wrong one is why homeowners can't find the rules that apply to them. Read the article Regional words8 min read ADUs in Edmonton: Up to Eight Units on a Residential Lot Edmonton quietly became Canada's most permissive big city for adding homes — and most Edmonton homeowners don't know what their zoning allows. Read the article Regional words8 min read ADUs in British Columbia: What SSMUH Actually Allows BC overrode single-family zoning province-wide. Three to six units are now permitted by right — no rezoning, no council vote. Read the article Regional words7 min read Accessory Dwelling Units in Canada: A Province-by-Province Guide There's no national ADU rule in Canada. BC, Ontario and Alberta each opened the door differently — here's the honest map. Read the article Regional words8 min read What Are Development Charges? The Fee That Decides Your Project Development charges are levied per new unit — and they're the single biggest cost difference between building in Ontario and building in Alberta. Read the article Regional words8 min read What Is a Garage Suite? Edmonton’s Signature Backyard Home Edmonton is the one Canadian city where the backyard home is normally built over the garage — and "garage suite" is the word that finds the rules. Read the article Regional words8 min read What Is a Basement Apartment? Ontario and the GTA, Explained Ontario permits three units as-of-right — so the question is rarely whether you may build a basement apartment, but whether yours meets code. Read the article Regional words9 min read What Is a Basement Suite? Alberta and BC, Explained In Alberta and BC the below-grade rental is a "basement suite" — and whether yours is legal comes down to a short, checkable list. Read the article Regional words8 min read What Is a Secondary Suite? Canada’s Most Common Second Unit "Secondary suite" is the term Canadian bylaws and CMHC actually use — which makes it the word to search when you want the real rules. Read the article Definitions9 min read What Is a Garden Suite? Toronto’s Backyard Home Without a Lane A garden suite is a detached backyard home for a lot with no lane — the change that opened backyard housing to most Toronto homeowners. Read the article Definitions9 min read What Is a Triplex? Three Units on One Lot A triplex is three homes in one building — and in most of Canada it's now the largest thing you can build without asking permission. Read the article Definitions9 min read What Is a Fourplex? Four Units on One Lot, Explained A fourplex is four self-contained homes in one building. Four isn't arbitrary — it's the threshold Canada's financing and GST rules were built around. Read the article Definitions9 min read What Is a Laneway House? Toronto and Vancouver, Explained A laneway house is a detached home at the back of your lot, off the lane. Toronto and Vancouver run different rules — here's the comparison. Read the article Definitions9 min read What Is a Carriage House? The Original Backyard Suite A carriage house is the outbuilding that stored the horse and carriage — now the most valuable thing many Canadians can add to a backyard. Read the article Definitions9 min read What Is a Coach House? Canada’s Backyard Home, Explained A coach house is a self-contained home in your rear yard. The word is regional — here's which Canadian cities use it and which call it something else. Read the article Definitions9 min read What Is a Duplex? How Duplexes Work in Canada A duplex is two self-contained homes in one building on one lot. Here's how Canadians use the word three different ways — and why it matters. Read the article Definitions12 min read What Is an ADU? Accessory Dwelling Units in Canada, Explained An ADU is a self-contained second home on your lot. Canada barely uses the term — here's the by-city vocabulary map and where they're legal. Read the article