PlaceDossier / Zoning / Zone codes
RS5 zoning in BC
RS5 (also written RS-5) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial RS5 zone. 6 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 6 local governments. It goes by 6 names: Heritage Woods Small Lot Single Detached Residential, Low Density Residential West Bench, Residential, Residential Summer Home and 2 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
RS5 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Shuswap Regional District Residential Summer Home · Anglemont Zoning Bylaw No. 650 | Houses at up to 20 per hectare of lot, plus secondary dwelling units under s. 3.9 | 1,000 m² with community sewer; 4,000 m² otherwise, or down to 3,200 m² if the subdivision's lots average 4,000 m² (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 Okanagan-Similkameen Low Density Residential West Bench · Okanagan Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 2800, 2022 | One house; the zone lists no secondary suite or accessory dwelling (s. 16.5.4) | 2 ha, unless the new lots are on community sewer and stormwater management (s. 16.5.2) | 30% | 10 m; accessory buildings 4.5 m |
| City of Abbotsford Residential Zone · City of Abbotsford Zoning Bylaw No. 2400-2014 | One single detached house with a secondary suite; or the house run as a boarding house or for residential care | 420 m² (480 m² on a corner, through lots alike), 13.0 m wide, 22.5 m deep; no panhandle lots | 45% | Main building 9.5 m or three storeys, whichever is less; accessory buildings 4.5 m |
| City of Delta Single Detached Residential 5 · Delta Zoning Bylaw No. 7600, 2017 | Inside the Urban Containment Boundary (s. 6.1.2(g), (h)): up to four homes on a lot over 280 m² (three on a smaller lot, six in the Frequent Transit Area), from at most one house, one duplex, two detached accessory homes (garden suites or coach houses) and a secondary suite in each house or duplex home; outside it and the ALR, one house, one secondary suite and one garden suite or coach house; the zone itself lists one house and a secondary suite (s. 11.50) | 550 m², 16 m wide, where the community plan designates single family residential; 460 m², 15 m wide, elsewhere; 30 m deep on average (s. 11.50.8) | 45%; floor area up to 0.25 times the lot area plus 125 m² | 2.5 storeys: 8 m to mid-roof or a flat roof, 9.5 m to a pitched roof's ridge; accessory buildings 1 storey, 3.75 m to the ridge (a detached garage 4.6 m) |
| Township of Esquimalt Single Family Large Lot Residential · Zoning Bylaw, 1992, No. 2050 | Two homes: a house with a secondary suite of up to 90 m² or 40% of the house's floor area, whichever is less, or a house and a detached accessory home (garden suite) of up to 65 m², never both (s. 37.1(1), (4), (6), 30.6, 30.7). Two buildings with homes only with a covenant against subdividing or strata titling the garden suite and a housing agreement that the owner lives on the lot and the garden suite stays available to rent (s. 37.1(5))Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 30.10, 40.2, 40.3 of the bylaw. | 930 m², 21.3 m wide at the front building line, for a new lot (s. 37.1(2), (3)) | 30% for all buildings and structures; the garden suite and accessory buildings together 10% of the lot and 25% of the rear yard; floor area up to 0.35 times the lot area (s. 37.1(7), (9)) | House 7.3 m; garden suite 4.2 m and no higher than the house; accessory buildings 3.6 m (s. 37.1(8)) |
| City of Port Moody Heritage Woods Small Lot Single Detached Residential · City of Port Moody Zoning Bylaw, 2018, No. 2937 | A house with a secondary suite and an additional dwelling unit (a home of its own, detached or attached, which may be stratified) (s. 8.9.2; s. 4). Or small-scale multi-unit housing, only on a lot in the SSMUH Areas of the bylaw's Map 3: up to 3 homes on a lot of 280 m² or less; up to 4 on a lot over 280 m² and up to 4,050 m²; up to 6 on such a lot inside the map's Prescribed Bus Stop 400 m Radius; as a house, semi-detached homes, additional dwelling units, townhouses, apartments or secondary suites, counted together (ss. 5.5.1 to 5.5.4). Which part of the map a lot is on we don't check: ask the City | 375 m², 12.0 m wide (s. 3.2) | House: 45% for all buildings, accessory buildings (additional dwelling unit included) at most 65 m²; small-scale housing 45% with up to 4 homes, 50% with 5 or 6 (ss. 8.9.3, 8.9.4) | House: 8.0 m or 2.5 storeys, whichever is less; accessory buildings 4.5 m; additional dwelling unit 6.71 m; small-scale housing 10.5 m with up to 4 homes, 11.5 m with 5 or 6, accessory buildings 4.0 m (ss. 8.9.3, 8.9.4) |
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 RS5 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.