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R1 zoning in BC
R1 (also written R-1, R.1) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial R1 zone. 35 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 28 local governments. It goes by 20 names: Low Density Residential (5 bylaws), Residential One (5 bylaws), Residential (3 bylaws), Residential 1 (3 bylaws) and 16 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
R1 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Low Density Residential · South Shuswap Zoning Bylaw No. 701 | One house, plus secondary dwelling units under s. 3.22 | 1,400 m² with community water and sewer; 1 ha otherwise (new lots must connect to community water) | 40% | Main buildings 11.5 m; accessory buildings 10 m with a dwelling in them, 8.5 m otherwise |
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Residential-1 · Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Zoning Bylaw No. 825 | One house, plus secondary dwelling units under s. 3.19; or a standalone residential campsite | 0.1 ha with community sewer; 1 ha otherwise (20 m wide) | 30% | Main buildings 11.5 m; accessory buildings 10 m with a dwelling in them, 8.5 m otherwise |
| Regional District of Central Okanagan Single Detached Housing · Regional District of Central Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 871 | One single detached house with a secondary suite inside it (s. 7.1.10) | 700 m², with 18 m of frontage | 35% | 9 m and 3 storeys; accessory buildings 5 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Residential · Electoral Area E Zoning and Floodplain Management Bylaw No. 2502, 2014 | One house (with a secondary suite) or one duplex (a duplex needs a lot of 2,140 m²) | 1,670 m² for a house, 2,140 m² for a duplex | 30% | Main building 9 m, accessory buildings 5 m |
| Regional District of East Kootenay Single Family Residential · Columbia Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 3255, 2023 | One house, with a secondary suite inside it | 555 m² | 30% | House 9 m, accessory buildings 5 m |
| Regional District of Nanaimo Rural 1 · Electoral Area F Zoning and Subdivision Bylaw No. 1285, 2002 | One home per hectare of lot, up to two (s. 4.13.3), and a secondary suite with each house, up to two a lot (s. 2.18) | 2 ha, with 70 m of frontage on a road (s. 4.13.3); up to half the lots in a subdivision may be 80% of that if the average holds (s. 6.7). No lot under that size may be created by a strata plan either, bare land strata aside (s. 2.23). | 10% | 10 m |
| Regional District of North Okanagan Residential Single Family · Regional District of North Okanagan Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 2023 | One single family house with a secondary suite (s. 15.1(5)); secondary dwellings were removed from the zone in 2024 (Bylaw 3001) | 560 m² with community water and community sewer; 1 ha without them; 8 ha in the ALR (or as the Agricultural Land Commission approves) | 35% (accessory buildings 7.5%) | House 11 m or three storeys, whichever is less; restricted farm buildings 10 m or two storeys; other accessory buildings 6 m |
| Strathcona Regional District Residential One · Cortes Island Zoning Bylaw, 2025 (No. 598) | Under 1 ha, two homes: a house with a secondary suite or an accessory dwelling unit, or a duplex; 1 to 2 ha, three: a house, suite and accessory dwelling unit, or a duplex and an accessory dwelling unit; 2 to 3 ha, four; 3 ha or more, five (s. 19.1) | 1 ha (s. 19.3); smaller lots by averaging (s. 13) | 20% on a lot of 1 ha or less, 10% on a bigger lot (s. 19.3) | 10 m (s. 16.2) |
| Strathcona Regional District Residential One · Quadra Island Zoning Bylaw, 1990 (No. 1213) | A house and a secondary suite; or a house, suite and accessory dwelling unit on a lot of 4,000 m² or more on community sewer, or 1 ha or more without (s. 11.4.1(i))Exceptions (1)
Listed in ss. 11.4.5, 11.4.6 of the bylaw. | 4,000 m² (ss. 9.1.1, 11.4.2) | 35% (s. 11.4.4) | 10 m (s. 10.2.1(f)) |
| Strathcona Regional District Residential One · Area D (Campbell River) Zoning Bylaw, 1991 (No. 1404) | One house and a secondary suite; on a lot over 4,000 m² on a community water system, an accessory dwelling unit as well, three homes in all (s. 4.6.1(iii)(b)) | 2,500 m², with frontage at least a tenth of the lot's perimeter (s. 4.6.1(vii)) | 25%; accessory buildings together at most 5% of the lot or 200 m², whichever is more (s. 4.6.1(iv), (vi)) | 10 m (s. 4.5(2)); accessory buildings 7 m (s. 4.5(1)) |
| Sunshine Coast Regional District Single Family Residential · Sunshine Coast Regional District Electoral Area A Zoning Bylaw No. 337 | One house; on a lot over 2,000 m², an auxiliary dwelling (or, at 2,000 m² and up on community sewer, a second home); on 4,000 m² and up, a second house; two homes at most (s. 601). A secondary suite is allowed where the zone allows only one house or a duplex; a lot can have one secondary suite or one auxiliary dwelling, not both, and neither counts toward the zone's limit on homes (ss. 502, 506). On SCRD sewer a suite needs the SCRD's sign-off on capacity first. | Set by the lot's subdivision district, not its zone (ss. 401, 407): from 640 m² to 100 ha; a lot's report gives its district in "What you can build (zoning)", under "The record", as "Subdivision district (smallest new lot)". Lots on Ruby, Sakinaw, Hotel, Garden Bay and Mixal lakes in the larger districts need 60 m of lakeshore (s. 408) | 35% | 11 m (s. 512) |
| Sunshine Coast Regional District Residential One · Sunshine Coast Regional District Zoning Bylaw No. 722 | One house; with an auxiliary dwelling on a lot over 2,000 m²; two houses on a lot over 3,500 m² (s. 7.1.3). A secondary suite of up to 55 m² is allowed in each house, on top of the zone's count of homes (s. 5.24); on SCRD sewer it needs the SCRD's sign-off on capacity first. | Set by the lot's subdivision district, not its zone (s. 4.2): from 1,000 m² to 100 ha; a lot's report gives its district in "What you can build (zoning)", under "The record", as "Subdivision district (smallest new lot)" | 45% under 750 m², 35% from 750 m² | 11 m; a house on a lot under 750 m² 8.5 m unless the lot's average slope is over 20%; a detached auxiliary dwelling or accessory building 8.5 m (s. 5.11) |
| Thompson-Nicola Regional District Residential Single and Duplex · TNRD Zoning Bylaw No. 2400, 2012 | One house (a secondary suite is allowed inside it), or one duplex, or one manufactured home | 700 m² with community water and sewer (1,400 m² for a duplex); 2,000 m² with water only (4,000 m² for a duplex); 8,000 m² with neither (4,000 m² with an engineer's report) | 40% | Home 12 m, accessory buildings 6 m |
| City of Burnaby Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing · Burnaby Zoning Bylaw 2026, No. 14815 | Small-scale multi-unit housing: 1 to 6 homes on a lot counting secondary suites, as a house, duplex or multiplex. Up to 4 on a lot of 281 m² or more (lots of 280 m² or less: at most 3); 5 or 6 only in a Frequent Transit Network Area (within 400 m of a bus stop with frequent service as the Province's regulation defines it). Or rowhouses, each on its own lot of at most 280 m², with 1 to 3 homes on each lot counting suites (ss. 1.1.4, 1.1.5; Part 2). Which transit map a lot is on we don't check: ask the City | Small-scale housing: 281 m², 10 m wide (interior or corner lot). Rowhouse lots: at most 280 m² (more only under a covenant capping them at 3 homes), 5 m wide (6.2 m for an end unit or a corner on a lane, 8 m for a corner on a street). Panhandle lots only for heritage lots or where the site leaves no choice; a pie-shaped lot may be narrower at the front if its average width over the first 30 m meets the minimum (s. 1.1.4) | 1 or 2 homes: 40% on a lot under 567 m², 30% on a lot over 567 m² (the table doesn't say which applies at exactly 567 m²); 3 or 4 homes: 40%; 5 or 6 homes: 45%; rowhouses: 55%. At least 40% of the lot left permeable (30% with 5 or 6 homes or rowhouses) (s. 1.1.5, Part 4-4.3) | Buildings at the front: 10 m with a sloping roof, 9.5 m with a flat roof; 2.5 storeys with 1 or 2 homes, 3 storeys with 3 to 6 homes or rowhouses. Buildings at the rear: 7.5 m sloping, 7.0 m flat, 2 storeys. Accessory buildings 4.0 m, one storey. Storeys count a basement or cellar; height is measured to the middle of a sloping roof (ss. 1.1.5, 1.1.5.2, 1.1.7.1) |
| District of Clearwater Residential Single Family and Duplex · District of Clearwater Zoning Bylaw No. 133, 2016 | One house, one duplex or one manufactured home; a secondary suite in a house | 700 m² on community water and sewer, 2,000 m² on community water only, 1 ha with neither; 15 m of frontage (9 m on a cul-de-sac bulb) | 40%, all buildings together | Main building 10 m, accessory buildings 6 m |
| Village of Clinton Low Density Residential · Village of Clinton Zoning Bylaw No. 607, 2025 | A house with a secondary suite and an accessory dwelling unit, a duplex, or a semi-detached pair; at most 3 homes per lot | 350 m², 12 m wide (6.5 m for each half of a semi-detached pair on its own lot) | 50% (60% with an accessory dwelling unit) | 12 m |
| City of Coquitlam Small-Scale Residential · City of Coquitlam Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 1996 | Up to 4 homes on a lot, accessory dwelling units counted, in one or more buildings (ss. 1002(3), (7)) | 650 m², 18.5 m wide (s. 1002(4)) | 50% for all buildings, not counting enclosed garbage and recycling structures (s. 1002(6)) | Principal buildings 11.0 m and three storeys on any face (a basement more than 1.3 m out of the ground counts as a storey); accessory buildings 3.7 m, 4.6 m with a roof of 4 in 12 or steeper (s. 1002(10)) |
| City of Cranbrook Residential · City of Cranbrook Zoning Bylaw No. 3977, 2019 | Up to 4 homes on a lot over 280 m², 3 on a smaller one (s. 7.04.4), in one main building: a house, duplex, triplex or fourplex; at most one secondary suite per main home and one accessory dwelling per lot. An accessory dwelling counts toward the 3 or 4 (Part 4); whether a secondary suite does is unclear, so ask the City | 400 m², or 280 m² with a rear lane; at least 10 m along the street (6 m on a cul-de-sac bulb); lots for each home of a duplex, triplex or fourplex may be half that (s. 7.04.3) | 50% | House 7.6 m; duplex 9.0 m; triplex or fourplex 11.0 m and 3 storeys; accessory dwelling 7.2 m; other accessory buildings 4.5 m |
| City of Fort St. John Single-Detached Housing · City of Fort St. John Zoning Bylaw No. 2470, 2019 | One house, with a secondary suite and up to two detached suites: at most 4 homes on a lot connected to City services, in at most 3 residential buildings, and the house must hold at least half the lot's residential floor area (ss. 8.3, 8.4, 4.20, 4.21). No duplex in this zone | 550 m², 15.0 m wide | 40%; at least 50% of the front yard left open | 11 m for the house (6.4 m wide at least); accessory buildings two storeys and 7.0 m, or the house's height if lower |
| Denman Island Local Trust Committee Residential · Denman Island Land Use Bylaw No. 186, 2008 | One single-family home per 1.0 ha of lot, at most five on a lot; one on a smaller lot (s. 3.3 Table 3); the zone's table lists no secondary suite or secondary dwelling unit (s. 3.3 Table 1, line 10) | 1.0 ha, and 1.0 ha on average (s. 3.3 Table 7) | 25% (s. 3.3 Table 3) | 7 m for homes within 100 m of the sea, 9 m farther back; 6 m for accessory buildings; 15 m for buildings used only for farming; boathouses 4.5 m (s. 3.3 Table 4) |
| Hornby Island Local Trust Committee Residential 1 – Small Lot · Hornby Island Land Use Bylaw No. 150, 2014 | One home, or one recreational vehicle lived in, per lot (s. 8.1(2)); no secondary suite or cottage | 1 ha (s. 8.1(7)) | 10% on a lot of 1 ha or more, 15% on a smaller lot (s. 8.1(3)) | 8 m; 7 m within 100 m of the sea; accessory buildings 6 m (s. 3.4) |
| Thetis Island Local Trust Committee Rural 1 · Valdes Island Rural Land Use Bylaw, 1998 (Thetis Island Bylaw No. 42) | One dwelling per parcel and one guest cottage up to 65 m² (s. 5.2.2); no secondary suite (our reading) | 4 ha (s. 5.2.2) | 5%, the house, cottage and accessory buildings together (s. 5.2.2) | 8 m for a dwelling, 6 m for accessory buildings and structures (s. 4.1.4); barns and water tanks aren't limited (s. 4.1.5) |
| Thetis Island Local Trust Committee Rural Residential · Thetis Island Land Use Bylaw, 2011 (Bylaw No. 89) | One house and one guest cottage per lot (s. 5.3(a), (b)); the cottage only on a lot of 0.8 ha or more, and on a lot under 1.6 ha only for occasional stays, not as anyone's residence (s. 5.1(e)); no secondary suite (our reading) | 0.8 ha (s. 5.5(a)) | 35% (s. 5.3(g)) | 11 m for all buildings and structures (s. 5.4(a)) |
| Thetis Island Local Trust Committee Residential One · Thetis Associated Islands Land Use Bylaw, 2014 (Bylaw No. 94) | One dwelling per lot (s. 5.1(2)); no guest cottage or secondary suite (our reading of s. 5.1(1) and the definition of dwelling in s. 1.1) | No lot in the zone may be subdivided (s. 5.1(7)) | 25% (s. 5.1(3)) | 9 m for a dwelling, 6 m for accessory buildings and structures (s. 5.1(5), (6)) |
| City of Kamloops Residential 1 · City of Kamloops Zoning Bylaw No. 55, 2021 | Up to 4 homes on a lot (3 on an urban lot of 280 m² or less): a house, a house with a residential suite, two houses, a duplex, or small-scale multi-unit housing. Only 2 outside the Urban area or without City water or sewer, in a transit-oriented area, or with limited fire flow; 1 in the Silt Bluff Red Zone or Foreset Area; the lowest applies (s. 8.1.4) | 370 m², 11 m wide and 11 m of frontage (15 m on a corner) | 40% of the lot for all buildings (55% with three or more homes); accessory buildings 12% of the lot up to 112 m²; hard (impermeable) surfaces 60% | Main buildings 2 storeys, or 3 storeys and 11 m with three or more homes; structures 12 m; accessory buildings 5 m (3 m under 10 m²) |
| City of Langley Suburban Residential · City of Langley Zoning Bylaw, 2025, No. 3300 | At most 4 homes on a lot: a house or a plex home (a duplex, triplex or fourplex), with secondary suites (one per home in a plex home), a garden suite or a carriage home, all counted toward the 4; 6 within 400 m of a frequent bus stop. Inside a Transit-Oriented Area, no plex home: one house and one secondary suite, garden suite or carriage homeExceptions (1)
Listed in s. 2.4(n) of the bylaw. | 557 m², 16 m of frontage (the frontage at least a tenth of the lot's perimeter, s. 2.3(g)) | 36% (s. 5, R1 zone); a garden suite or carriage home at most 100 m² of ground floor, within that limit; accessory buildings at most 60 m² of floor area in all (s. 2.4(d)) | Main building 9.0 m (9.8 m with a sloped roof, for a three-storey building only), measured to midway between eave and ridge on a sloped roof; carriage home 6.8 m and 2 storeys; garden suite 4.6 m and 1 storey; accessory buildings 4.6 m |
| Village of Lytton Low Density Residential · Village of Lytton Zoning Bylaw No. 484, 1998 | One house or one duplex | 464.4 m², with 15.2 m of frontage (6.2 m on a cul-de-sac or for a panhandle lot) | 50% | Main building 10 m, accessory buildings 6.2 m |
| City of Merritt Low Density Residential · City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 | Houses, duplexes, townhouses or apartments: up to 3 homes on a lot of 280 m² or less; on a bigger lot 4, or 40 per hectare (60 for townhouses and apartments) if that is more. Secondary suites and detached secondary dwellings on top, within s. 4.36 | 270 m², 9 m wide (330 m² and 11 m on a corner) for a house; 540 m², 18 m wide for a duplex; 360 m², 18 m wide (420 m² on a corner) for townhouses or apartments | 75% | Main buildings 14 m or 3 storeys; detached secondary dwellings 10.5 m or 2 storeys |
| Municipality of North Cowichan Residential Rural · Zoning Bylaw 1997, No. 2950 | Two homes in one residential building (a house with a suite, s. 56(4)(a)); floor area up to half the lot area (s. 56(4)(c))Exceptions (2)
Listed in s. 56(4)(d)-(u), 56(8)(j) of the bylaw. | 1,675 m², with 30 m of frontage (s. 56(2), (3)) | 30% | 9 m; accessory buildings 5 m |
| City of Nanaimo Single Dwelling Residential · City of Nanaimo Zoning Bylaw No. 4500 | One house, with a secondary suite, or two where one is in an accessory building (s. 6.15). On a corner lot over 700 m² too small to subdivide, two houses or a duplex, one front door facing each street, and then no suites. On a lot over 0.4 ha, a second house (s. 7.3.1) | 500 m², 15 m wide, 30 m deep (450 m², 10 m wide and 26.5 m deep with a lane; 10 m wide on a cul-de-sac); a subdivision may cut lots by 10% if they average 500 m² (ss. 7.4.1, 7.4.5) | 40% | 9 m with a sloped roof (4 in 12 or steeper), 7 m with a flat one; perimeter walls 7.32 m |
| District of Peachland Low Density Residential · Zoning Bylaw No. 2400, 2023 | Up to four homes on a lot with municipal water and sewer, counting suites; two (a home and a suite) on one without (s. 7.5.6)Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 7.5.3(2) of the bylaw. | 700 m² with municipal sewer, 1 ha without; 15 m wide and 30 m deep (ss. 7.5.4, 7.5.5); each side of a side-by-side duplex or townhouse subdivided on its own lot at least half that area and width, on municipal water and sewer (s. 7.5.17)Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 7.5.3(3) of the bylaw. | 40% with one house (55% counting parking and driveways); with more than one main home, 50% on a lot under 1,000 m² (65%) and 40% on a larger one (55%) | Houses 9.1 m; accessory buildings and garden suites 5 m (a garden suite over a one-storey garage with street or lane access 6 m, s. 5.35(5)) |
| Village of Pemberton Residential 1 · Village of Pemberton Zoning Bylaw No. 832, 2018 | One house with up to two secondary suites in it, three homes in all (ss. 11.1, 7.23(b)) | 700 m², 18 m wide (s. 11.1.3) | 40% (s. 11.1.4) | 10.5 m; accessory buildings 4.6 m, two at most (s. 11.1.4) |
| District of Squamish Residential 1 · District of Squamish Zoning Bylaw No. 2200, 2011 | A house, a duplex, or a triplex or fourplex (three or more attached homes). At most 5 homes on a lot in all, counting secondary suites, accessory dwelling units and flex units, and no more than 4 on strata titles; 6 of each within 400 m of a bus route the bylaw counts as frequent, once one runs (ss. 6A.5, 4.55). A house or each half of a duplex can have one secondary suite, and an accessory dwelling unit (a detached or garage suite) can be added (ss. 4.5, 4.38). The lot needs community water and sewer to build (s. 6A.12) | 690 m², 18.36 m wide, 27.4 m deepExceptions (1)
Listed in s. 6A.2(b) of the bylaw. | 33% for a house or duplex, 40% with a secondary suite and an accessory dwelling unit, 50% for a triplex or fourplex | House or duplex 9 m; triplex or fourplex 11 m or three storeys, whichever is less; accessory dwelling unit 8 m or three storeys; other accessory buildings 4.58 m |
| Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality Residential Single and Two Family · Sun Peaks Resort Area Zoning Bylaw No. 1400 | One house, duplex or mobile home per lot | 700 m² on community water and sewer; with water only, a mobile home 925 m² and a house 925 or 1,400 m² (unclear); 8,000 m² with neither | 25% | 12 m (auxiliary buildings 5 m) |
| City of Surrey Suburban Residential · Surrey Zoning By-law, 1993, No. 12000 | On a lot under 4,050 m²: up to 4 homes as a house or a duplex, with secondary suites, a coach house or a garden suite (3 homes, as a house, on a lot under 280 m²), or up to 6 on an eligible lot in a Frequent Bus Stop Area; inside a Transit-Oriented Area, up to 2. On 4,050 m² or more, up to 2: a house with a suite, coach house or garden suite. At most 2 on heritage-protected land or land not connected to community water or sewer (s. B.1) | 1,858 m², 30 m wide, 30 m deep; at most 5 lots per hectare | House 40% on a lot of 560 m² or less, down 2 points for each 93 m² more to 25% (from 1,262 m²); with a coach house or garden suite 45%, down to 30%; duplex 50%, down to 35%; duplex with a coach house or garden suite 55%, down to 40% | House 9 m (10 m in a floodplain); duplex 3 storeys and 11 m (12 m); coach house or garden suite 2 storeys and 7 m, roof peak 8.3 m (8.5 m); kennel and farm buildings 9 m; accessory buildings 4 m (5 m where roof and materials match the house) |
Listed by local government, not ranked. "Not set" means the zone itself sets no figure; general rules elsewhere in its bylaw may still apply. Each zone's page has its uses, setbacks and the bylaw's sections.
Two lots both zoned R1 under different bylaws can allow quite different things, and provincial law sets a floor of homes on most house zones in towns (how many homes can I build?). Site-specific exceptions, development permit areas and the ALR apply on top. Find the lot's own zone with the search above, then confirm with the local government before you buy or build.
Sources: each zone's bylaw, linked from its page, summarised in our words. Other councils' zones aren't here: the zoning we cover.