CSA A277 modular — mortgage-financeable
Laneway Homes & Garden Suites, Factory-Built in BC
Turn your backyard into housing your family — or your mortgage — will thank you for. KYRAX builds modular laneway homes and garden suites in Surrey, BC under the CSA A277 certification pathway: real property, real financing options, and a home that arrives finished instead of becoming a year-long construction site.
01 — The case for modular
Why a modular laneway home beats a stick build
Mortgage-financeable
A CSA A277 modular on a permanent foundation is real property. That opens conventional and CMHC-insured mortgage options — including refinancing programs designed for homeowners adding a secondary suite. Uncertified builds and homes on wheels can't access these.
Days on-site, not months
The home is built and finished in our factory while your foundation is poured. Delivery, set, and connections take days. No season of trades in your backyard, no weather delays, no neighbour complaints.
Smoother permits
A277 means your home is certified to the BC Building Code in the factory with third-party inspection — a documentation package municipalities recognize. We provide the drawings and support your application needs.
02 — What owners build them for
What owners build them for
Multigenerational living
A private home for parents or adult kids — together, but not on top of each other.
Rental income
A long-term rental in your backyard that helps carry the mortgage on the main house.
Aging in place
Single-level, barrier-free layouts — zero-step entries, wide doorways, roll-in showers. A gap almost no builder serves; we design for it.
Downsize, keep the lot
Move into the garden suite, rent the main house, and stay in the neighbourhood you've lived in for decades.
03 — Laneway-ready modular models
Laneway-ready modular models
Our CSA A277 modular models are sized for laneway and garden-suite lots — join the waitlist to see launch pricing first.
12' × 44' · Foundation · CSA A277 modular
Mortgage-financeable as real property on a permanent foundation.
Launch pricing announced at consultation.
10' × 32' · Foundation · CSA A277 modular
Mortgage-financeable as real property on a permanent foundation.
Launch pricing announced at consultation.
04 — Guides by city
Laneway & garden suite guides by city
Bylaws, feasibility, and what modular changes in each market.
Surrey
BCWe build in Surrey, so nobody delivers a garden suite here with less friction. Surrey's large lots and multigenerational households make it one of the strongest garden-suite markets in Canada.
Read the guide
Vancouver
BCVancouver pioneered laneway housing in Canada, and thousands of laneway homes have been built across the city since the program launched.
Read the guide
Victoria
BCVictoria has embraced garden suites as gentle density, and the Capital Region's housing pressure makes a backyard home one of the highest-value additions you can make to a property.
Read the guide
Kelowna
BCKelowna has long permitted carriage houses, and the Okanagan's rental demand and family-property patterns make backyard homes a natural fit.
Read the guide
Burnaby & Tri-Cities
BCMetro Vancouver's inner suburbs are opening up fast to backyard housing — large lots, strong rental demand, and provincial legislation pushing municipalities to allow more homes per lot.
Read the guide
Toronto
ONToronto legalized laneway suites city-wide in 2018 and garden suites in 2022 — opening hundreds of thousands of lots to backyard homes.
Read the guide
05 — Common questions
Laneway home & garden suite FAQs
The questions every homeowner asks before adding a backyard home.
What's the difference between a laneway home and a garden suite?
Both are self-contained backyard homes on a lot with an existing house. A laneway home fronts onto a rear lane; a garden suite sits in a backyard without lane access. Municipal programs treat them slightly differently, but the construction — and the value they add — is the same.
How do I finance a laneway home or garden suite?
This is where modular construction pays off. A CSA A277 modular on a permanent foundation is real property — most owners fund it through their home equity, and CMHC-supported mortgage refinancing options exist specifically for homeowners adding a secondary suite. Tiny homes on wheels don't qualify for these programs, which is exactly why we build our laneway models to CSA A277, certified before delivery.
How long does a modular laneway home take?
Permitting varies by municipality and is usually the longest step. The factory build runs in parallel with your site preparation, and once the foundation is ready the home is delivered, set, and connected in days — not the months a stick-built backyard project spends on-site.
Can a garden suite be rented out?
Long-term rentals are permitted — and encouraged — by most municipal programs; rental income is one of the main reasons owners build. Short-term rental rules are stricter everywhere and vary by city.
Do you handle permits?
We start every project with a free feasibility review of your lot, provide the certified drawings and documentation your municipality needs, and guide you through the application. The permit is issued in your name; we make sure the package behind it is right.
Find out what your lot allows — free
Send us your address and we’ll review zoning, siting, and servicing for a laneway home or garden suite. No cost, no obligation — just a straight answer.