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Serving Loyalist Township — Amherstview, Bath, Odessa & Amherst Island
Modular Homes & Garden Suites in Loyalist Township, Ontario
Factory-direct modular homes and backyard suites for Loyalist Township — the Lennox and Addington township between Napanee and Kingston, taking in Amherstview, Bath, Odessa, Millhaven, Wilton and Amherst Island. This is new ground: on October 28, 2025 Council passed By-law 2025-62, which replaced the old interior-only rule with a genuine as-of-right DETACHED backyard suite. Here's what it allows, where it doesn't apply, and what it costs.
What you can build in Loyalist Township
Full modular homes — from $175,696. 29 models from 560 to 1,405 sq ft, 1–3 bedrooms — factory-built to the Ontario Building Code and set on a permanent foundation (a real, permanent house, not a “trailer”).
Backyard suites (ADUs) — from $96,244. 7 compact models built for garden-suite and in-law-suite use, sized to fit what Loyalist Township's by-law allows.
All homes are CSA-certified (A277 modular / Z240MH manufactured), finished in the factory, and delivered ready for foundation and hook-up. What's the difference between modular, manufactured, and mobile? →
Find your backyard suite — 3 quick questions
We'll narrow the models that fit a typical Loyalist Township backyard allowance to the ones that fit your life. No email needed.
1 · Who's it for?
2 · What layout?
3 · What size feels right? (Loyalist Township lots typically allow up to ~800 sq ft)
On a rural lot Loyalist caps a detached suite at 40% of your house’s footprint (and it must have less floor area than the house); on a serviced urban lot there’s no fixed percentage — it just has to be smaller than the house. Enter your address for the specifics. Your exact lot may allow more or less — get the real number for your address in seconds.
Check your exact Loyalist Township address →Can you put a garden suite (ADU) in your Loyalist Township backyard?
Often, yes — Loyalist Township permits a detached Additional Residential Unit on most serviced residential lots. The specifics, from Loyalist Township Zoning By-law 2001-38, §4.42 — Additional Residential Units, as replaced by By-law 2025-62 (passed October 28, 2025):
| Max size | Rural (Rural, Rural Residential, Hamlet Residential): a detached suite may not exceed 40% of your house’s footprint, and must have less floor area than the house. Urban (R1–R5): no fixed percentage — the suite must be smaller than the house, with house and suite together covering no more than 50% of the lot. |
|---|---|
| Where it applies | Only in the R1–R5 residential zones (on full municipal services) and the Rural, Rural Residential and Hamlet Residential zones. NOT in Shoreline Residential (the Lake Ontario waterfront), Prime Agriculture, Restricted Agriculture, Estate Residential or R6 — and most of Amherst Island is Prime Agriculture. |
| Max height | 4.5 m (≈15 ft), and never taller than your house — rising to 6 m (≈20 ft) where the suite sits above a detached garage. A detached garage legally built on or before October 28, 2025 may be converted. |
| Setbacks | Rear yard 7.5 m (≈25 ft) rural, 1.2 m (≈4 ft) urban. Interior side matches your zone’s requirement for the house, never less than 1.2 m. At least 2.5 m (≈8 ft) from the house and 2 m from any other accessory building. Never in the front yard or a required exterior side yard. |
| How many | Urban: up to three additional units on the lot, of which only one may be detached. Rural: one additional unit per lot. |
| Parking | 1 space per unit — tandem with your existing driveway is permitted. |
| Servicing | Urban lots must be on municipal water AND sewer; a partially serviced urban lot does not qualify. Rural lots may use a private well and septic, on a minimum 0.5 ha (≈1.24 acre) lot with demonstrated capacity. In the Rural zone the suite must also meet the Minimum Distance Separation formulae. |
| Waterfront & hazard | No building within 15 m of a floodplain, top of bank, or land zoned Environmental Protection — and where no floodplain is mapped, nothing within 30 m (≈98 ft) of the high water mark. On the Lake Ontario shoreline that setback is usually the binding constraint. |
| Conservation | Cataraqui Conservation (CRCA), 613-546-4228. Loyalist Township issues its own septic permits under Part 8 of the Ontario Building Code — not the County, and not a health unit. |
Getting your building permit in Loyalist Township
An eligible lot still needs a building permit before anything is delivered. Here's how Loyalist Township's process actually works — verified against the Loyalist Township building department's own pages.
How do you apply for an ADU building permit in Loyalist Township?
Through CityView Portal (Loyalist Township Building Division) — 18 Manitou Crescent West, Amherstview; Chief Building Official Mark Parkinson, 613-386-7351 ext. 174 (general ext. 128) (application portal ↗). Applications go through the CityView Portal — this is not Cloudpermit — and in person at 18 Manitou Crescent West. A permit is required for any stand-alone structure of 15 m² (about 161 sq ft) or more, so every backyard suite needs one. A $500 non-refundable deposit is collected when a new-residential permit is applied for and is credited against the final fee. Loyalist Township's building-permit page ↗
- Confirm your zone first — this is the step that decides everything. The detached-suite right applies only in the R1–R5 zones on full municipal services and in the Rural, Rural Residential and Hamlet Residential zones; Shoreline Residential, Prime Agriculture, Restricted Agriculture, Estate Residential and R6 are excluded and would need a rezoning.
- On a rural lot, confirm the lot is at least 0.5 ha (about 1.24 acres) and apply for the septic work — Loyalist Township issues its own sewage-system permits under Part 8 of the Ontario Building Code.
- Where the lot is near water, a floodplain, a top of bank or Environmental Protection land, get Cataraqui Conservation's approval first (613-546-4228) — the 15 m and 30 m setbacks bite before the building permit does.
- Have the drawings prepared by a qualified designer (Schedule 1 — Designer Information), and a lot grading plan where a Development Agreement applies.
- Apply for an entrance permit if a new or changed driveway is involved, and submit the building-permit application through the CityView Portal with the $500 deposit.
- Book inspections through construction to occupancy, plus a separate ESA electrical inspection.
What does a Loyalist Township ADU permit application need?
- Application for a Permit to Construct, with Schedule 1 — Designer Information (BCIN) on the drawings
- Site / plot plan showing lot lines, the principal dwelling, the proposed suite, all other accessory buildings, the well and septic on a rural lot, and the distance to any high water mark, floodplain or top of bank
- Full construction drawings — foundation plan, floor plans, elevations, cross-sections, and structural details
- Mechanical drawings with heat-loss calculations and ventilation details, and the Ontario Building Code energy efficiency (SB-12) design summary
- On a rural lot: an application for the on-site sewage system, with capacity demonstrated for the house and the suite together
- Cataraqui Conservation permit or written approval where the lot is in a regulated area
- Lot grading plan prepared by an Ontario Land Surveyor or Professional Engineer where the lot is subject to a Development Agreement
How much does an ADU building permit cost in Loyalist Township?
From Loyalist Township's 2026 Fees and Charges schedule. The building permit is $18.73 per $1,000 of construction value with a $100 minimum — and the Township sets the value itself at $145 per square foot for new residential, so a ~700 sq ft detached suite is deemed at about $101,500 and works out to roughly $1,900. Add $10 per plumbing fixture (minimum $100), and on a rural lot a $950 Class 4 septic permit. A $500 deposit is paid at application and credited to the fee; permits over $20,000 also carry a $500 refundable inspection fee. Development charges are a bigger number: a qualifying additional residential unit is exempt by statute, against $11,444 for a new single or semi-detached dwelling — but water and sewer impost fees of about $9,842 and $6,583 are separate charges that the exemption does not automatically cover. All figures are estimates — confirm current rates with the Building Division (613-386-7351 ext. 128).
| Building permit | $18.73 per $1,000 of construction value (min $100), with value deemed at $145/sq ft for new residential — a ~700 sq ft suite ≈ $1,900 |
|---|---|
| Deposits | $500 non-refundable at application (credited to the fee); a further $500 refundable inspection fee on permits over $20,000 |
| Plumbing permit | $10 per fixture, minimum $100 |
| Septic (rural lot) | Class 4 system $950 — issued by Loyalist Township itself, not the County or a health unit |
| Lot grading & entrance | grading certificate review $210 and deposit $260, lot grading deposit $3,000; entrance permit $150 with a $2,500 damage deposit; 911 address sign $75 |
| Development charges | EXEMPT for a qualifying additional residential unit — against $11,444 for a new single or semi-detached dwelling |
| Water & sewer impost (urban) | about $9,842 water + $6,583 sewer on a new municipal connection — separate from development charges; confirm whether a suite triggers them |
A qualifying additional residential unit is exempt from development charges by statute — section 2(3.2) of the Development Charges Act as amended by Bill 23, which covers a unit in a structure ancillary to a house. That is worth $11,444 against what a new single or semi-detached dwelling pays under DC By-law 2021-066 (2026 rates). Two honest caveats: the Township does not publish a plain-language ARU exemption statement, so confirm it applies to your project; and Loyalist's water and sewer impost fees (about $9,842 and $6,583 for a single/semi connection) are works charges rather than development charges — whether an added suite triggers them is not published and is the single most important cost question to settle with the Township before you commit.
How long does an ADU building permit take in Loyalist Township?
Ontario's Building Code requires a decision on a complete house-class application within 10 business days. Ontario's Building Code sets the 10-business-day window for a complete house-class application; Loyalist does not publish its own timeline. Two things commonly run before that clock starts — a rural septic approval, and a Cataraqui Conservation permit where the lot is near water, a floodplain or Environmental Protection land. If your zone is one of the excluded ones, a rezoning is a separate process measured in months, not days.
Registration: No additional-residential-unit registration or licensing by-law was found for Loyalist Township — the building permit (and the septic permit on a rural lot) is the compliance mechanism. Note this is an absence in the published record rather than a confirmation from the Township, so it is worth a one-line check. Separately, if you take the Township's housing grant, the 15-year rental agreement is registered on title at the owner's expense and binds a future purchaser.
Worth knowing before you apply
- Your zone decides whether you have a right at all. The detached-suite permission applies only in R1–R5 (on full municipal services) and the Rural, Rural Residential and Hamlet Residential zones. Shoreline Residential — the Lake Ontario waterfront — is excluded, as are Prime Agriculture, Restricted Agriculture, Estate Residential and R6. Check the zone before anything else.
- Most of Amherst Island is zoned Prime Agriculture, so a detached suite there is generally not permitted as-of-right.
- The right is new and the website is behind it. By-law 2025-62 passed October 28, 2025; the consolidated zoning by-law posted on loyalist.ca is dated 2015 and still shows the old interior-only rule. A new comprehensive zoning by-law is also in development for 2026, which may change these standards.
- The permit fee is set on the Township's deemed value, not your invoice — $145 per square foot for new residential — so a lower factory price does not reduce the permit fee.
- Water and sewer impost fees (about $16,425 combined for a single/semi connection) are separate from development charges, and the Bill 23 exemption does not automatically extend to them. Since urban suites must connect to municipal services, settle this with the Township early.
- An urban lot on private or partial services does not qualify — the Township is explicit that partial servicing is not enough in the urban area.
- The Township's Official Plan permits an additional unit in the Prime Agricultural designation but the zoning by-law does not extend the right to the PA zone. Until that gap is closed, treat a PA lot as needing a rezoning.
- Worth asking about: the Township's housing grant can cover up to 20% of construction costs to a maximum of $25,000 for a detached suite, plus $12,500 more where affordability conditions are met — with a building permit required by December 1, 2027. Council was reviewing amendments in July 2026, so confirm the current amounts.
Fees and timelines are estimates from Loyalist Township's published schedules, verified July 27, 2026. Rates and processes change — always confirm current requirements with the building department before you apply.
Grants & financing in Loyalist Township
Affordable and Purpose-Built Rental Housing CIP — Up to 20% of construction costs to a maximum of $25,000 for a suite in a detached structure, plus a further $12,500 where affordability conditions are met. Conditional on renting the unit for 15 years (registered on title), the owner living in the principal dwelling, and a building permit issued by December 1, 2027. Council was reviewing amendments to the programme in July 2026 — confirm the current amounts at HousingCIP@loyalist.ca.
Development-charge exemption for additional units — Under the Development Charges Act (Bill 23) a unit in a structure ancillary to a house is generally exempt from municipal development charges — against $11,444 for a new single or semi-detached dwelling. Note water and sewer impost fees (about $9,842 and $6,583) are separate charges and the exemption does not automatically extend to them — confirm with the Township.
See every program → Ontario ADU Grants Directory
A modular or prefab home on a permanent foundation is financed like any house. CMHC Prefab Plus allows an insured mortgage with as little as 5% down on the first $500,000, with construction funds released in stages. How modular home financing works →
Thinking of the suite as a rental? Run the numbers →
Loyalist Township modular homes — FAQ
Can you build a garden suite / ADU in Loyalist Township?
Yes — as of October 28, 2025. By-law 2025-62 replaced Loyalist’s old interior-only rule with an as-of-right detached additional residential unit. The important limit is which zone you’re in: the right applies in the R1–R5 residential zones on full municipal services, and in the Rural, Rural Residential and Hamlet Residential zones. It does not extend to Shoreline Residential, Prime Agriculture, Restricted Agriculture, Estate Residential or R6, so many waterfront and agricultural lots still need a rezoning.
How big can a backyard suite be in Loyalist Township?
It depends on where you are. On a rural lot the detached suite may not exceed 40% of your house’s footprint and must have less floor area than the house. On a serviced urban lot there’s no fixed percentage — the suite just has to be smaller than the house, and the house and suite together may not cover more than 50% of the lot. Height is capped at 4.5 m either way (6 m above a detached garage) and can never exceed your house’s height.
Can you build an ADU on well and septic in Loyalist Township?
Yes, on a rural lot. In the Rural, Rural Residential and Hamlet Residential zones a detached suite may run on a private well and septic, provided the lot is at least 0.5 hectares (≈1.24 acres) and you can show sufficient water and sewage capacity for both the house and the suite. Loyalist Township issues the septic permit itself under Part 8 of the Ontario Building Code. Urban lots are different — they must be connected to municipal water and sewer, and a partially serviced urban lot does not qualify.
Why does the zoning by-law on the Township website not mention this?
Because the consolidated by-law posted on loyalist.ca is dated January 1, 2015 and still shows the superseded interior-only rule. The detached-suite right comes from amending By-law 2025-62, passed October 28, 2025. A new comprehensive zoning by-law is also in development for 2026, which may change these numbers — so confirm the current standards with the Township before you order.
Can you put a modular home in Loyalist Township, Ontario?
Yes. On land you own, a CSA A277 modular home on a permanent foundation is legal residential housing under the Ontario Building Code throughout Loyalist Township — as the principal dwelling, or as a detached additional residential unit in the backyard where your zone permits one.
How much does a modular home or backyard suite cost in Loyalist Township?
Modular home models start at $175,696 and run to about $338,000 for the largest layouts; backyard ADU models start at $96,244. Site work, foundation, delivery, and permits are additional.
Can I get a mortgage on a modular home in Loyalist Township?
Yes — on a permanent foundation it is financed as real property, including via CMHC Prefab Plus (5% down on the first $500,000).
Local rules summarized from Loyalist Township Zoning By-law 2001-38, §4.42 — Additional Residential Units, as replaced by By-law 2025-62 (passed October 28, 2025); verified by Modular Homes 400 and reviewed by James Clarke, REALTOR®. Always confirm current requirements with the City of Loyalist Township before you build.