In Georgetown a Basement Suite Can Take the Whole Basement, and a Serviced Lot Can Carry Two Units

Yes. Halton Hills requires a permit for the alteration or renovation of a house, and its 2026 fee schedule prices a basement finish at $9.64 per square metre, with a $263.37 minimum for small residential work that includes plans review and two inspections. Completing a roughed-in bathroom, adding plumbing, and adding or removing a structural wall are each listed as permit work. Installing cupboards without plumbing and painting are not. If the finish is really a future apartment, permit it as an ARU now rather than converting later.

Two, on a fully serviced lot. Since By-law 2024-0098 passed on 9 December 2024, a single detached, semi-detached or townhouse lot may have either two additional units inside the house, together no more than 60 per cent of its floor area or 220 square metres, or one inside at 40 per cent or 110 square metres plus one detached unit at 40 per cent or 90 square metres. Every unit shares the one driveway, and each has to be registered before it is occupied.

Yes. The zoning by-law says that where an additional residential unit is completely contained within the basement of the main residential building, it may occupy its entire floor area, notwithstanding the 40 per cent and 110 square metre caps. The caps still apply if the suite spills onto the main floor or if you add onto the house to make room for it. Ceiling height, egress windows and a compliant exit are what actually limit a Georgetown basement, not the area rule.

Yes, one space per unit. Halton Hills requires two parking spaces for the main dwelling and one for each ARU, each 2.75 by 5.5 metres on the driveway, or 2.9 by 6.0 metres inside a garage. A driveway can be widened to 7.0 metres as long as 40 per cent of the front yard stays soft landscaping, and only one driveway per lot is allowed. Where the lot cannot make the count, the Town points you to a minor variance through the Committee of Adjustment.

It needs its own way out, and a separate entrance is the cleanest way to get one. The Building Code accepts a door that opens directly outside from the unit and serves only that unit, or a shared exit that is separated from the rest of the house by a 30-minute fire separation with interconnected smoke alarms in both units and the common area. Halton Hills prices a walkout as a flat $278.97 permit item and wants the stairs shown on the site plan. HMH builds the separate entrance in three days.

$1,252.54 for a stand-alone registration in 2026, or $262.47 when the unit was built under a building permit and passed all its inspections. The building permit fee is separate. Registration is not optional: under By-law 2023-0060 occupancy of an ARU is not permitted unless it is registered, and an individual who keeps renting an unregistered unit can be fined up to $50,000. Registered units go on the Town's public ARU registry and get periodic Fire Department inspections.

Yes, through the Town's registration process, and the path depends on the unit's age. If you can prove it existed on or before 14 July 1994, with tenant affidavits, tenancy agreements and cancelled cheques, or tax statements showing rental income, it can be brought up to the Ontario Fire Code Retrofit section 9.8 through Fire Department inspection. A newer unit is inspected against the Building Code, and a house more than five years old may use the less restrictive Part 11 compliance alternatives. Expect upgrade work, and a permit for it, before registration.

Yes, in the interior or rear yard, within the Town's detached-ARU standards. In urban residential zones the unit is capped at 90 square metres or 40 per cent of the main house, whichever is less, and its roof must be at least 1 metre lower than the house's, to a maximum of 6.5 metres. Setbacks are 1 metre from an interior lot line with no windows facing it or 2 metres with windows, and 1.5 metres from the rear line, with no doors or balconies facing either. You need clear access to the rear yard and total lot coverage of 60 per cent or less.

Often yes, but the conservation authority decides first. Development in floodplains, shorelines, wetlands and watercourses needs a permit under the Conservation Authorities Act, and Halton Hills says a building permit cannot be issued until applicable law is met, which may require approvals from agencies such as conservation authorities. The authority confirms a complete application within 21 days, and you can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal if there is no decision within 90 days. An interior basement suite adds no footprint; a walkout or addition that pushes into the valley is where the review gets serious.