Central Okanagan

Custom Homes & Custom Decks in Lake Country, BC

Four distinct communities, four different sets of lot conditions. Winfield, Oyama, Carr’s Landing and Okanagan Centre.

Building in Lake Country

What a Lake Country build actually involves

Lake Country is really four communities stitched together, and treating them as one place is the fastest way to get an estimate wrong. Winfield is the serviced centre. Oyama sits on the isthmus between two lakes. Carr’s Landing and Okanagan Centre run along the shoreline and up the hill behind it, with larger rural parcels and, in places, very different servicing.

That variety is also why the accessory dwelling conversation here is more interesting than in a uniform suburb. Larger rural parcels give you real siting freedom for a detached EcoHome, which is exactly the kind of lot the design suits best. The catch is that the zone your parcel carries decides whether a detached unit is even on the table.

Local Rules

What the rules allow in Lake Country

The District of Lake Country sets what can go on your parcel. These are the points that most often change a design, and they are worth knowing before you pay anyone to draw something.

Your zone decides whether detached is allowed

This is the single most important thing to check in Lake Country. Land zoned Rural Large Parcel (RLP) and Rural Residential 1, 2 and 3 (RR1, RR2, RR3) allows both secondary suites and accessory suites. Land zoned Single Family Housing (RU1) and Agricultural 1 (A-1) allows secondary suites only. On an RU1 or A-1 parcel a detached carriage house is not the plan, and finding that out early saves a design cycle.

One suite per parcel, either kind

Only one secondary suite or one accessory suite is permitted per parcel. You are choosing between them, not stacking them.

The suite cannot be sold separately

A secondary suite and its principal dwelling must remain a single real estate entity in Lake Country. The suite adds rental income and family flexibility, not a second title you can sell off. Anyone planning to subdivide value out of a suite should know that going in.

SSMUH applies on the smaller lots

Under the District’s small-scale multi-unit housing zoning amendment (Bylaw 1238, 2024), restricted zones must permit three to four units on lots of 4,050 m² or smaller. What that unlocks depends on your zone and your servicing.

Bylaws change and every parcel is different. Treat the above as a starting point, confirm the current rule with the District of Lake Country before you commit to a design, or call us and we will confirm it for your address.

Site Conditions

Building conditions on a Lake Country lot

Lake Country is not listed as its own row in the BC Building Code Appendix C climatic data table. Structural design values come from the nearest published station adjusted for your parcel’s elevation, and in a district that runs from lake level up several hundred metres of hillside that adjustment is not academic. A roof and a deck framed for a Winfield flat sit differently from one framed for an upper Carr’s Landing slope.

Servicing varies more here than anywhere else we build. Some parcels are on municipal water and sewer, others are on wells and septic, and irrigation history runs through a lot of the older agricultural land. Where the water and the waste go is a first-visit question, not a phase-two discovery.

The larger rural parcels are the best-case scenario for the EcoHome. Real setback room means the building can be sited for view, sun and privacy rather than squeezed into the only legal rectangle left on the lot, and that freedom shows up in the finished result.

One practical note on timing: Lake Country projects that involve well or septic work need those assessments started early, because they gate the design rather than follow it. We flag that on the first visit so nobody loses a month waiting on a report that could have been ordered in week one.

What We Build

Two services in Lake Country

EcoHaven Homes custom home exterior, the EcoHome built in Lake Country

Custom Homes

The EcoHome, built on your Lake Country lot. Ample space in a small footprint, which works as a rental property, an in-law suite or a downsizing home. Permits handled first, budget split across six phases.

Custom Decks

New builds, repairs and upgrades across Lake Country. Designed to match the house it attaches to and framed for the snow and sun this specific site takes, not a generic valley average.

Areas we build in

If your neighbourhood is not on this list it does not mean we will not come. Call and ask.

Winfield Oyama Carr’s Landing Okanagan Centre Lakestone The Lakes

Lake Country FAQ

Questions we get from Lake Country

It depends entirely on your zone. RLP, RR1, RR2 and RR3 allow both secondary suites and accessory suites. RU1 and A-1 allow secondary suites only, which means no detached unit. Checking your zone is the first thing we do.

No. In Lake Country a secondary suite and its principal dwelling must remain a single real estate entity. The suite adds income and flexibility, not a second title.

Yes, all four communities. They are genuinely different builds though. The rural parcels in Carr’s Landing and Okanagan Centre often have well and septic servicing and more slope than a serviced Winfield lot, and the estimate reflects that.

Lake Country is not published as its own row in the BC Building Code Appendix C table, so design values are taken from the nearest station and adjusted for the elevation of your parcel. Given the elevation range across the district, that adjustment matters.

We also build in

West Kelowna Kelowna Peachland Summerland

Find out what your Lake Country lot supports

A free consultation gets you a straight answer on zoning, siting and what the build would realistically cost, in writing. No pressure.

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