Penticton allows carriage houses and secondary suites under its own zoning bylaw, separate from Kelowna's. Here is how the process differs.
Written by Serge, Construction Professional, 10+ years of construction experience
Penticton is about a 45-minute drive south of Kelowna along Highway 97, through West Kelowna, Peachland, and Summerland. It is not part of our standard Kelowna service area, and carriage home rules here run under Penticton's own Zoning Bylaw No. 2024-22, not Kelowna's Bylaw No. 12375.
The two cities' rules are not identical. Penticton permits carriage houses on single-detached lots in its FG, A, and RC rural zones and its R1, R2, R3, RD1, RD2, and RD3 urban residential zones. Carriage houses there require Development Permit approval, with proof of builder registration through BC Housing's Licensing and Consumer Services, in addition to the building permit itself. See Penticton permits & zoning for the process in full.
Penticton's own population and housing growth has been real but slower than Kelowna's, and the city has been working through updates to its Official Community Plan and zoning bylaw in recent years, including the current Zoning Bylaw No. 2024-22. That makes Penticton a market worth watching rather than one with the same volume of carriage-home activity Kelowna has seen; demand exists, and so does buildable lot supply in the city's established residential neighbourhoods.
We verified the zones and process above directly against the City of Penticton's own carriage houses & secondary suites page. One thing worth flagging honestly: the City's separate secondary suites page lists a different set of zones for secondary suites specifically than its carriage houses page does. Rather than guess which is current, we confirm your parcel's exact zoning and eligibility directly with Penticton's Planning department before any application goes in, as part of your feasibility study.
Penticton's rental vacancy rate was 2.6% in October 2025, up from 1.2% the year before, and still below the 3% to 5% range generally considered healthy. Average rent was $1,387 and median rent was $1,324 for the same period, both up from October 2024. Source: City of Penticton, citing CMHC's Rental Market Survey, Housing availability in Penticton shows positive gains.
A vacancy rate under 3% generally means a well-located, well-built rental unit finds a tenant without much difficulty, similar to the dynamic in Kelowna, though Penticton's rent levels run somewhat below Kelowna's own 2025 CMHC averages.
A carriage house or secondary suite in Penticton serves the same two purposes it does in Kelowna: rental income on a property that otherwise sits with unused yard space, or housing for family without leaving the neighbourhood. With vacancy under 3% as of late 2025, a legal, well-located unit is likely to find a tenant without much difficulty; the harder question for most Penticton property owners is not demand, it is confirming what their specific lot and zone actually allow, which is what a feasibility study is for.
The same written, no-obligation approach we use in Kelowna applies if we confirm a Penticton project: your parcel's current zone checked against Zoning Bylaw No. 2024-22, whether a carriage house or secondary suite is permitted on it, what the Development Permit step would involve for a detached unit, a buildable footprint given Penticton's setback and site coverage rules, and an honest cost range.
Because our day-to-day crews, suppliers, and site visits are organized around the Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland, Lake Country, Summerland, and Vernon corridor, a Penticton project would need that logistics question answered honestly before anything else, which is exactly why we ask you to flag a Penticton address up front rather than discovering the travel distance partway through a feasibility study.
Permit fees, Development Permit fees, and any variance costs in Penticton are separate line items from Kelowna's equivalents, since each municipality sets its own fee schedule; these are confirmed against Penticton's current Fees and Charges Bylaw at the time of application rather than assumed to match Kelowna's.
Penticton sits outside the core Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland, Lake Country, Summerland, and Vernon area we serve day to day. We are evaluating whether to take on Penticton projects; if you are in Penticton and interested, say so when you request a feasibility study, and we will confirm directly whether we can take on your project before any commitment on either side.
The general process, design through permits through construction on one fixed-price contract, is the same approach covered on the carriage homes page; what changes in Penticton is the specific bylaw, the permit authority, and the travel distance for site visits.
If Penticton becomes a confirmed part of our regular service area, this page will be updated to reflect that plainly, the same way our Kelowna service area pages are. Until then, treat anything on this page about availability as provisional, and the zoning and process information as accurate but independently worth confirming with the City before you commit to anything.
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Penticton zoning and permit figures on this page are sourced from the City of Penticton's official pages, opened and verified October 22, 2026, current as of that date. Bylaws are revised from time to time; each is confirmed against the current version at the time of your application. Licensed and insured; documentation available on request.