July 2, 2025 | Real Estate Tips
How Much Does it Cost to Build a Tiny Home?
This blog post is going to walk you through the cost to build a tiny home, the factors determining that cost, as well as some tips for innovative design and how to save money in the process of your build.
Tiny Homes are quickly becoming one of the most desirable forms of alternative housing because they are affordable, energy efficient and easy to transport.
With the rise of multi-family homes, the prospect of introducing secondary housing on large plots of land has become all the more desirable. Many are taking to tiny homes and mobile trailers as a solution for short-term and long-term living.
While undertaking a project such as a secondary dwelling may seem daunting, rest assured that with the right advice and guidelines, you can make your tiny home dream a reality!
How Much is a Tiny Home in Ontario?
How much do tiny homes cost in Canada on average? In Canada, you can expect to spend anywhere from $20,000 to 75,000 on a standard model tiny home.
How Much Space Will You Need?
The cost to build a tiny home can vary significantly, particularly regarding the finishes of the home and its overall size. Larger size means more materials, and ultimately, a greater cost. Now, size can also be a good investment, and this is the case if you are planning on doing any of the following:
Using Your Home as a Permanent Dwelling
If you plan on living in the home full-time, you will want to consider how much space feels like a comfortable space for you. Being confined to a smaller home, particularly if you are downsizing from the average home, which is around 900 SQFT to a tiny home which might be anywhere from 200-400 SQFT… this can feel like a large adjustment.
Easing in and ensuring that you are building your tiny-home with the end goal of using it as a permanent dwelling will help you create the most effective design and layout for your home.
More Than One Person Living in a Home
Another important aspect to consider when building and designing the layout of your tiny home is if you have more than one person living in your home. If so, you may want to create additional lounge spaces or consider building a lofted home so that you can continue to have personal space despite the close nature of your home.
More than people, pets are also an important part of tiny home living and there are many ways that you can gear your home to being more pet friendly. While creating a larger floor plan will increase costs, it will also ensure you are comfortable with your space.
Parking the Home in a Specific Location
If you plan on parking the home in a more permanent location, such as a plot of purchase or leased land, or a 4-seasons mobile home park, you will find that your creative freedoms open up in terms of size. You will have more creative freedom if you plan on parking your home because you can build out and around it more.
Not only can you increase the curb appeal of the land surrounding your home, but you can also build out the interior with features such as decks, hot tubs, patio furnishings and so much more! Parking your home allows you to put your own personal touches on the exterior and create a home that is personalized to YOUR taste!
Searching for the perfect home? Explore these related blog posts!
- How to Buy a Rural House in Ontario
- The Do’s & Don’ts of House Hunting
- What is the Right Size of Acreage?
Cost & Choice of Materials
The materials that you use to create your home will be a large variable when it comes to the overall cost of building a tiny home. These are some of the more expensive finishes that will introduce additional cost but leave you with a high-end investment into your tiny home.
Premium Wood Options
Wood such as cedar or reclaimed wood finishes (interior accent beams and wood feature walls) can cause costs to creep up. Cedar built tiny homes introduce a high level of builder confidence but fall into a range of 25-250,000 to build.
Premium Insulation
How you plan to insulate your tiny home will depend heavily on the climate that you live in. However, it is important to consider the overall resale value of the home as you build it. Wool insulation
Windows and Doors
High-quality, energy-efficient windows and doors can significantly impact the overall budget of your home. However, they are also elements that you won’t want to cheap out on. Good quality windows and doors create security and long-term energy savings.
The standard cost for premium windows and doors for your tiny home, based on Ontario numbers, is anywhere from $8,000-13,000.
Flooring and Countertops
These are two optional areas to splurge on because there are so many more affordable options for flooring and counters, such as tile finishes, and laminate flooring or for countertops, faux-granite and quartz countertops that are still quality products.
While the more costly choices have strong durability and wonderful visual appeal, this is one of those areas where you can cut corners and only cause a marginal difference.
Can I Build a Tiny Home?
Not everywhere in Ontario allows tiny homes. Therefore, understanding zoning laws is an essential part of building your tiny home.
Some municipalities will allow tiny homes as secondary suites. In doing this, you have an allowance to park your tiny home on a lot with a primary dwelling already situated on it, known as additional dwelling units (ADUs).
What are ADUs?
ADU is short for additional dwelling unit, and because of Bill 33 passed earlier this year, they are able to be built on any parcel of land that is “urban or residential”. This means that you can build an ADU in any area that permits the use of local laws to empower residential housing, as long as the land is tied to city water and sewage systems.
Building Code Requirements:
Another factor that is going to influence the cost of your construction is the basic building code requirements here in Ontario. Let’s walk through them together:
- Minimum size: 188 SQFT
- Minimum height: Minimum of 6’9 in ALL living spaces
- Rooms required (to classify it as a tiny home/separate dwelling): A kitchen, a living/ sleeping area, a bathroom with a toilet, a sink, and a shower/tub.
If your tiny home is on a trailer and is completely mobile, this will change/impact the laws and regulations around it being considered a “legal place of full-time residence”. Without zoning variances, it is challenging, even with municipal approval, to have a parked tiny home or a mobile trailer recognized as a primary place of residence.
Ontario Municipalities That Allow Tiny Homes
- Most areas of Kitchener and Waterloo allow tiny homes in most residential areas
- Ottawa supports them as primary and secondary dwellings
- Guelph permits garden suites and “laneway” homes in some areas
- Brant and Huron County allow the use of most homes as primary and secondary dwellings due to the rural nature of the land here
Want to learn more about some of the best communities in Ontario? Check out these blogs next.
Tiny Home Prices: A Breakdown
- Mobile Home on Wheels: $50,000-$70,000/ on average
- Stationary Tiny Home with a Concrete Foundation: $40,000/$105,000
- Custom Tiny Home with Stationary Requirements: $150,000-$190,000 (this option includes custom finishes and anticipates the cost of high end standard finishes)
How to Build a Tiny Home (While Saving Money)
DIY-ing Your Build
Not having to hire outreach will help you save a lot long term. Hiring a builder to create your tiny home can cost upwards of $10,000. On average, labour normally accounts for 50-60% of the total build costs. If you know someone who is handy, has previous building experience or you, yourself, are able to dive into the mindset of building your own home, you can likely save half the cost of the original budgeted build.
Site and Structural Costs
If you are looking to travel with your tiny home and do NOT need it registered as a primary, long-term dwelling, then you will save the costs of parking it on sites with this land designation and will find yourself with much more flexibility regarding travel. If your home is on wheels, you will also cut down the cost of having a stationary foundation installed which can range anywhere from $4,0000-$10,000 depending on the size of your tiny home.
Interior Finishes and Fixtures
If you are open to the look of simple fixtures and finishes, you can find yourself saving thousands on the high-end, upgraded versions of windows, doors, construction materials, finishes and hardware/ appliances.
In a short summary, this blog has taken the time to break down the average cost to build a tiny home, the difference between a mobile-tiny home and a ADU, provided three strategic tips for saving money and also given a comprehensive background on the future of tiny homes and the progress they have made as primary residences in different municipalities across Ontario.
Now that you know more about the cost to build a tiny home, are you looking for the right spot to build your tiny home? Hiring a Real Estate agent ensures that you are working with someone who studies the land, its restrictions and its uses.
Whether you are looking to buy land or see yourself living in a four-seasons mobile park, we would love to come on your tiny home journey with you! Reach us by email at info@capstonereps.com or call 519.824.9050.
Ready to Get Started?
Thinking about buying or selling a home in Guelph or Wellington County? Start the conversation with our team today.
