A small, self-contained home on the lot you already own. Design-build, a fixed price contract before construction, and Tim on site for the critical work.
A carriage home is a small, self-contained house on the same lot as your main home, with its own entrance, kitchen and bathroom. In Kelowna and West Kelowna it is also called a carriage house or a detached secondary suite. People build them for parents, for adult children who cannot yet afford the market, for a home office or studio, or to rent out.
Because it sits on land you already own, a carriage home is the most direct way to get more from a lot you plan to keep. The size, height and parking rules are set by your city and your zone, and we check those for you before anything is drawn.
We have built carriage homes across Kelowna and West Kelowna, on their own and alongside new homes on the same lot. Every one runs through the same five steps, and Tim, a Red Seal carpenter and licensed BC builder, is on site for the critical work.
Send us your address. We check the zoning, lot size, access, servicing and parking and tell you within one business day whether a carriage home fits. Free.
A concept drawing of your carriage home and a first estimate built from it. Real work your project needs, whoever builds it.
Permit drawings, engineering and quotes from every trade and supplier, priced from the finished drawings.
The price is locked in a contract before construction, with a guaranteed move-in date. It changes only if you change the project.
Daily logs and photos on your phone. Tim on site for layout, foundation and framing. Then the Grand Reveal and the warranty.
For most of the people we build for, yes, and it is usually why they call. You have to live somewhere, and a carriage home puts a second, self-contained home on land you already own.
No second down payment and no second lot. The property you paid for once starts paying you back.
While you live in your forever home, the rent from the carriage home helps carry the mortgage, or covers it.
Once the mortgage is gone, a carriage home is monthly income on your own property, and real estate has been a worthwhile long-term hold in the Okanagan.
What a carriage home costs to build in Kelowna and West Kelowna, what a new two-bedroom rents for long term, what Kelowna short-term rentals actually earn per night and per year, and how the two compare over ten years. We put the worked example in our free guide rather than on this page, because the numbers move and we keep the guide current.
Because the carriage home sits on your own property, many owners fund it against the equity in their home, often with a home equity line of credit, instead of buying a separate rental property with a second down payment. A rented carriage home is also a small business: the interest, the insurance and a share of the running costs can usually be written off against the rental income. Real estate has been a worthwhile long-term investment in the Okanagan, and a carriage home is the most direct way to add to yours without moving. Talk to your accountant and your lender before you decide. We build the home, and we are happy to join that conversation.
In Kelowna, yes. The City allows short-term rental of a secondary suite or carriage house when the operator lives on the same lot as their principal residence, holds a City of Kelowna short-term rental business licence and is registered with the Province. A principal residence means you live there at least 240 days a year, and only one unit on the property can be a short-term rental. In West Kelowna the rules are tighter and were being revised in 2026, so we check the current bylaw for your zone as part of the free feasibility check. These are the rules as of September 2026; both cities change them, so confirm before you count on it.
Six carriage home floor plans from 700 to 968 square feet, built from carriage homes we have actually built, plus the current Kelowna size and height rules and how we price a carriage home so the number does not move.
Kelowna and West Kelowna each set their own size, height, setback and parking rules for carriage houses. We check your lot against them before you spend anything on drawings.
Concept drawing, permit drawings, engineering and construction, coordinated by one company and priced in one fixed price contract.
A carriage home usually needs an upgraded water line and often a new sewer connection. They are designed and priced up front, not discovered mid-build.
Tim is there for layout, foundation and framing, the stages where a decision cannot be undone.
Every carriage home meets the BC Energy Step Code, so it is quiet, comfortable in an Okanagan summer and cheap to run.
Daily logs and photos on your phone every working day, so you know exactly what happened on site today.
A few of the carriage homes we have built in Kelowna and West Kelowna, including a carriage home built together with a new custom home on one lot. Each one was designed for the family who owns it and for the rules of the lot it sits on. See more in our portfolio, or read how long a carriage home takes to build.
It depends on your lot and your zone. Kelowna and West Kelowna set a maximum floor area, a height limit and setbacks for carriage houses, and the size of your main house can affect what is allowed. Our free planner has the current rules, and the feasibility check tells you what your own lot allows within one business day.
It depends on who will live in it. A one-bedroom for a parent or a tenant works from about 600 square feet. A two-bedroom home with a proper living area and mechanical room needs more, usually 800 square feet or over. Our planner shows six plans from 700 to 968 square feet, and we design to the largest size your lot allows if that is what you want.
Nobody can give you an honest number from a phone call, and we will not. A carriage home is priced from finished drawings and real supplier quotes, then fixed in a contract before construction. The Concept Agreement gives you a first estimate grounded in your own drawing, and our free guide What It Costs to Build in Kelowna explains the ranges.
Design and permitting usually take longer than people expect, and construction runs from the permit to a guaranteed move-in date written into your contract. Starting the planning in the quieter winter months usually means construction can begin in spring. We give you real dates at each stage rather than a range from a brochure. Read the full timeline.
It depends on who will live in it. A one-bedroom for a parent or a tenant works from about 600 square feet. A two-bedroom home with a proper living area and mechanical room needs more, usually 800 square feet or over. Our planner shows six plans from 700 to 968 square feet, and we design to the largest size your lot allows if that is what you want.
Every carriage house permit application has to show how the property meets the parking requirement, usually one extra stall on the lot. Street parking normally does not count. We check this during the feasibility check because it is the rule that most often decides whether a carriage home fits.
Yes to both, with conditions. A permitted carriage house can be a long-term rental in Kelowna and West Kelowna. In Kelowna it can also be a short-term rental if you live on the same lot as your principal residence, hold a City short-term rental business licence and register with the Province; only one unit per property can be rented short term. West Kelowna is tighter and revising its rules in 2026. We check the current bylaw for your zone in the feasibility check.
The permit itself is only part of the process. Before it can be applied for, the concept drawing, permit drawings and engineering have to be complete, and that pre-planning takes longer than the permit review. We give you real dates as each stage is booked rather than guessing here.
Send us your address and what you have in mind. Tim checks the zoning, the lot and the parking and tells you within one business day whether a carriage home will fit and roughly what size. Free, and no pressure.
