Building a cabin in Quebec - Small Cabin Forum (3)

- Forums - Register/Sign Up - Reply - Search - Statistics -

Small Cabin Forum / Properties / Building a cabin in Quebec

<< . 1 . 2 . 3 .
Author	Message
Santosh Member	# Posted: 10 Aug 2020 12:14pm Reply I've seen a few mentions on this thread about building on the footprint of an existing cabin. Recently bought a half acre in lanaudiere (Quebec) with a small 12 by 15 cabin in extremely poor shape. My certificate du localization says the buildings are in accordance with local bylaws, but the city refused me the right to build because I don't have a primary building on the site. Am I reasonably safe to just build something with the exact same dimensions in its footprint?

razmichael Member	# Posted: 11 Aug 2020 11:20am Reply Nobody but the local bylaw people/inspectors can tell you if you are "reasonably safe to build". Unless some such person is on the forum here, the best you will get is opinions and experience from all over the place. You need to talk to the local authorities - you may not like the answer but better than being told to tear it down. I'd also suggest you get a copy of the Quebec codes and review them. In Quebec, the code allows for a recreational cabin/hunting cabin (with limitations on how many days a year it can be occupied - plus reduced rules in other areas. Problem is that local municipalities can enforce other rules but understanding the overall regulations can be very helpful. My cabin (16x24) is in Quebec and when I first starting talking to them they said I could not use an outhouse. i quickly pointed out the provincial regulations that allowed one for my situation and asked where their local rules disallowed it. We have an outhouse! All in all they were actually really easy to work with. I did need a septic engineer report (so they knew that a septic could be put in if we wanted to turn it into a full time residence) but the building permit cost $40 and took 20 minutes to get with my computer drawings (I remember the inspector warning me that "bad news - you need a permit for just about everything, good news - they generally cost around $20 each"). The toughest regulations that apply all across the province has to deal with the water front - I admit that i support these fully but when they were put in a number of years ago, although buildings too close were grandfathered, people could not clear any more than 15 ft of a path to the water front along with other rules that pissed of residents. So do your homework and I strongly suggest you need to discuss this with the local enforcement people but don't be afraid to question and ask to see the local bylaws when they make a statement about something. Good Luck

RonG Member	# Posted: 8 Sep 2020 09:44pm - Edited by: RonG Reply Hi Rodger, if you send me an email address I have some treed property for sale with excellent zoning for your needs... Ron

jeracravo Member	# Posted: 19 Sep 2020 08:15pm Reply Hey RonG, I'm looking for land as well. jelmet at g m a i l Thanks

toyota_mdt_tech Member	# Posted: 19 Sep 2020 08:38pm Reply Quoting: Santosh ..... Recently bought a half acre in lanaudiere (Quebec) with a small 12 by 15 cabin in extremely poor shape......but the city refused me the right to build because I don't have a primary building on the site. Am I reasonably safe to just build something with the exact same dimensions in its footprint? Did you ask to build or repair an existing structure, ie make it safe?

jeracravo Member	# Posted: 22 Sep 2020 11:19am Reply Hi everyone, This thread has been REALLY helpful! Thanks for all the great info! One question: if we get a "hunting camp" with a structure on it already... does it mean that this structure probably has no fixed foundations? Does it mean that I probably can put a few more cabins without foundations spread around the property? And as a different question: when they say there are no build rights, do they only consider building, something that has fixed foundations? Thanks

QuebecLand Member	# Posted: 15 Apr 2021 09:59am Reply Quoting: razmichael I'd also suggest you get a copy of the Quebec codes and review them. Hi Razmichael, I'm in the painful process of reading all the regulations for all the municipalities in the area. I would also like to read this Quebec regulations as you suggest. Do you know the exact name of these or have a link to them?

steve1231 Member	# Posted: 14 Feb 2024 03:24pm Reply this thread is almost 15 years old but still the top google search for collecting and consolidating quebec's stringent, and often bizarre, bylaws. my latest challenge was in bowman, quebec. bylaws are quite strict. you need a permit to have a garage sale (no joke). can't bring a trailer onto your own property. bowman requires a single family dwelling (foundation, septic, every drawing stamped by an architect or engineer, and yet minimum size is 250sq.ft.) before you are allowed to build a shed or outbuilding. you're allowed a single 8x10 (max height 6') without a proper dwelling. setbacks are considerable. existing structures are only grandfathered if they were built with a permit, regardless of how old they are. the frustrating part is that there seem to be hundreds of sheds and outbuildings that do not meet regulations, occupied without issue or challenge. it seems like only people who apply for permits are told 'no'.

909 Member	# Posted: 14 Feb 2024 10:40pm - Edited by: 909 Reply That's too bad to hear. Quebec has some incredibly beautiful lots, and cheapest real estate for sale.

razmichael Member	# Posted: 15 Feb 2024 07:54am Reply I'll repeat what I and others have noted about all this - there are country/province building codes and then local by-laws. Quebec has some really tough rules (province wide) regarding anything near waterfront and what I would consider fairly normal building codes. The majority of things people find annoying or just wrong tend to be local by-laws. I see general statements like "you can't park an RV on your land to use" which, may be true in some municipalities, it is not true across the board. In my locality you can but there is an annual fee (used to be about $90). Also, in my area, everything needs a permit but they are cheap. Even my building permit (granted this was a while ago) was only $40. I will note that I have not kept up with the local bylaws in my area so things may well have changed but I have a waterfront cabin (self built), off grid and with an outhouse and grey water pit. Building, dock and shed permits all added up to maybe $100. The expensive part was that I did need an engineering report for a septic system to show that it could be done in the future if needed/wanted. All this to say that a lot of the stuff people note as being restrictive are local and not tied to the building code so, if thinking of buying land, check the local municipality bylaws.

<< . 1 . 2 . 3 .