Some (Angular) Plane Talk on Toronto’s Garden Suite Bylaw Changes

Curious about the latest changes to Toronto’s garden suite bylaws? Wondering whether angular planes are still part of the picture? You’re not alone. In this post, architect and backyard home specialist Daniel Hall unpacks the newest twists to the rules for garden suites in Toronto.

Angular planes: gone or just renamed?

On November 20, 2024, the Province amended the Planning Act to prohibit municipalities from applying angular plane restrictions to backyard homes. Since then, our team has helped several homeowners secure garden suite permits without having to comply with angular plane rules.

Toronto’s City Council, however, was not about to leave a gap. Earlier this summer, Council approved zoning amendments that do two things:

Remove all references to angular planes to comply with the Planning Act

Introduce new height and roof slope limits that effectively operate the same way

Specifically, the revised bylaw caps the height of main walls within a certain distance of lot lines at 4.0 metres and regulates the slope of the roof above that point. If this sounds a lot like the angular plane restrictions of old, that’s because it essentially is—just dressed in new language. Although the Bard famously wrote ‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet’ this may be more a case of ‘every rose has it’s thorn’

The plot twist: an active appeal

There’s one more wrinkle. Although City Council approved these amendments in July 2025, they are not yet in force. The reason? An appeal has been filed with the Toronto Local Appeal Body (TLAB). Until that process is decided—or dismissed—the earlier, angular-plane-free framework continues to apply.

What this means for homeowners

For now, homeowners may have a limited window of opportunity to apply for permits without facing angular plane (or angular-plane-by-another-name) limits. The timing, however, depends on how the TLAB appeal unfolds.

If you’ve been considering adding a garden suite to your property, this may be the right moment to act before those constraints return in full force.