Types of Houses in Canada Explained

Canadian homes differ in two ways that matter to a buyer: the building (detached, attached, stacked or split into units) and the ownership (freehold, condominium, leasehold or co-op shares). Together they decide what you own, what you pay each month, who handles maintenance and how a lender will finance the purchase. This page compares every common type of home in Canada and points to the guide that covers each one in depth. It is part of our guide to property types in Canada.

Housing types at a glance

Single-detached house

A standalone house on its own lot with no shared walls. It is usually freehold: you own the house and the land, and you are responsible for all of the maintenance, from the roof to the foundation. Apart from property tax, insurance and utilities, there are no monthly fees, and it is the simplest type of home for a lender to finance.

Detached house styles

Semi-detached house

Two houses that share one common wall, each on its own lot. Each half is usually freehold, so you own your half and its land, with no monthly fees, and it is financed like a detached house. The shared wall can carry noise, and work on it needs coordinating with the neighbour.

Townhouse

Townhouses (row houses) are attached homes, usually two or three storeys, sharing one wall (end units) or two walls (interior units), each with its own ground-level entrance. A freehold townhouse comes with its own lot and no condo fees, while a condo townhouse is a unit in a condo corporation that maintains the exterior and charges monthly fees. Stacked and back-to-back layouts fit more units on the same land. What a townhouse is compares freehold and condo townhouses, the layouts and their monthly costs.

Condominium apartment

A condo is an individual unit in a building where the owners share the common elements (hallways, structure, amenities) through a condo corporation. You pay condo fees for maintenance, building insurance and the reserve fund, and you are responsible for the inside of your unit. Before a purchase, the corporation’s finances and rules are reviewed through its disclosure documents; in Ontario that is the status certificate. The steps, documents and financing are covered in buying a condo in Canada, and the trade-offs against a house in condo vs house.

Duplex

A duplex is one property with two self-contained units, either side by side or stacked one above the other. Unlike a semi-detached house, it is a single property on one title, so one owner owns both units and the land. What a duplex is covers the layouts, what makes a duplex legal and what converting a house involves.

Many owners live in one unit and rent the other, an approach known as house hacking. Because the owner lives there, the purchase is financed as a home rather than as a rental property.

Triplex and fourplex

A triplex has three units and a fourplex has four. Up to four units, a building is financed with a residential mortgage rather than a commercial one. Older plexes are a defining housing form in Montreal. Down payments by number of units, mortgage insurance and how rent counts when you qualify are covered in buying a duplex, triplex or fourplex.

Laneway house and garden suite

A laneway house, garden suite or coach house is a smaller second home built on the lot of an existing house, usually at the back facing a lane or the yard. It adds a rental unit or a home for family members without buying a second lot, and it is financed through the main property. Which cities allow them, size limits and building costs are covered in laneway houses and garden suites.

Other secondary units

Mobile and manufactured homes

A mobile or manufactured home is built in a factory and moved to its site. It may sit on land you own or on a leased pad in a community where you pay pad rent. Where the land is leased, the home is often financed with a chattel loan, like a vehicle, rather than a mortgage. Buying a mobile home covers the costs, the financing and resale, and mortgages for modular and manufactured homes covers the construction standards lenders look for.

Co-operative housing (co-op)

In a co-op, residents hold shares or a membership in a corporation that owns the building, rather than a deed to their unit. Members pay monthly housing charges and vote on how the co-op is run, and an incoming member usually has to be approved. Because a member buys shares rather than real property, financing works differently from a mortgage on a house or condo. How co-ops work, the different kinds and the financing options are covered in co-op housing in Canada.

Freehold, leasehold and condo ownership

The building type and the ownership structure are separate questions: a townhouse can be freehold or condo, and a detached house can stand on leased land. With leasehold, you own the home for the term of a ground lease while someone else owns the land, which affects financing and resale. Freehold vs leasehold vs condo compares the three structures.

Housing types by region

Financing by property type

The minimum down payment depends on the price and, for multi-unit homes, on the number of units. The minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest for homes under $1.5 million, and 20% at $1.5 million or more. A home of up to four units can be insured with a smaller down payment if you live in one of the units: CMHC lends up to 95% of the value for one or two units and 90% for three or four. A home you won’t live in follows different rules, covered in CMHC mortgage rules.

Current rates for each kind of mortgage are on our mortgage rates page.