Grow a Suite Grant Program

About the Grow a Suite Grant Program

The Grow a Suite Grant Program provides a grant, and building permit application fee waiver to help homeowners:

✔ Create a new secondary suite,
✔ Legalize an existing suite, or
✔ Build a new carriage home.

This program aims to increase rental housing supply, and bring unlicensed secondary suites up to BC Building Code standards to increase safety and livability for tenants.

About the Grant

The grant amount available for eligible applicants is:

• A waived building permit application fee ranging between $150 and $500 and,
• A grant to cover 25 per cent of construction costs, or $7,500, whichever is less.

The grant will be applied as a credit towards the owner's property tax account, at the time of project completion, following a successful final building inspection.

The program is open from Jan. 1, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2027, or until program funding is fully used, whichever occurs first. This is a first-come, first-serve program.

For grant consideration, the associated Building Permit must be applied for with the completed Grant Application Form on or thereafter Jan. 1, 2026 and before the Dec. 31, 2027. 

Who Can Apply?

Eligible applicants must:

• Have a property with an existing dwelling such as a single-family home that was built in 2024 or earlier.
• Not have an existing legal secondary suite or carriage home on the property.
• Be eligible to build a secondary suite or carriage home in keeping with zoning requirements.
• Sign an Owner’s Declaration that the new unit will not be used as short term rental or decommissioned for a minimum of three years.
• Comply with other program requirements and deadlines outlined in the application form.
• Not have applied for or received building permit issuance prior to Jan. 1, 2026.

How to Apply

1. Confirm your property and home meet the program and eligibility requirements on the Grant Application Form.
2. Determine if a Development Permit is required by contacting dev.services@westkelownacity.ca and confirming eligibility to build a:
   1. Secondary suite. 
   2. Carriage home.
3. Apply for a Building Permit with completed Grant Application Form.
4. Receive City confirmation of program eligibility, and maximum applicable grant amount based on 25 per cent of eligible construction costs to a maximum of $7,500.
5. Pick up your approved Building Permit and complete all construction and applicable inspections.
6. Request either occupancy or final inspection.
7. Once occupancy status has been issued, the applicant will be required email dev.services@westkelownacity.ca to formally request the grant funding allocation.

Interested in Applying?

Contact building@westkelownacity.ca to confirm eligibility, requirements, and next steps.

About the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF)

The City of West Kelowna was awarded up to $7.9 million from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to deliver initiatives that will increase housing supply and create more housing options in our community.

The City and CMHC have agreed to a Housing Supply Growth Target of 1,343 housing units by 2028, which includes 199 single-family units, 814 missing middle units, and 330 multi-unit homes. Additionally, 114 affordable housing units are targeted as a subset within the overall targets. Learn more on our Housing Accelerator Fund page.

The City of West Kelowna’s Action Plan commits to seven local initiatives including but not limited to new incentives to increase priority housing, fast-tracking standardized housing designs, and zoning updates to encourage more rental, affordable, and missing middle housing. Opportunities to develop affordable housing will be further enabled through a Land Strategy, which will outline a framework for utilizing City land.

The West Kelowna Builds – Affordable Housing Partnership Program will both help the City to achieve the Housing Supply Growth Target, as well as respond to key initiatives in the Action Plan.