PlaceDossier / Zoning / Zone codes
RS6 zoning in BC
RS6 (also written RS-6) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial RS6 zone. 5 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 5 local governments. It goes by 5 names: Compact Lot Residential, Heritage Woods Single Detached Residential, Single Detached Residential 6, Single Family DADU Residential and 1 more. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
RS6 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Abbotsford Compact Lot Residential Zone · City of Abbotsford Zoning Bylaw No. 2400-2014 | One single detached house; or the house used for residential care | With a rear lane: 300 m² (360 m² on a corner), 9.5 m wide (11.5 m on a corner), 31.0 m deep. Without: 300 m², 12.0 m wide, 22.5 m deep | 45% | Main building 9.5 m or three storeys, whichever is less; accessory buildings 4.5 m |
| City of Delta Single Detached Residential 6 · 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. 11.60) | 390 m², 13 m wide and 30 m deep on average (s. 11.60.8) | 40%; floor area up to half the lot area, and at most 275 m² (s. 11.60.4) | 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 DADU Residential · Zoning Bylaw, 1992, No. 2050 | Two homes: a house with a secondary suite, or a house and a detached accessory home (garden suite) of up to 65 m², which needs a covenant against subdividing or strata titling it and a housing agreement that the owner lives on the lot and the second home stays available to rent (s. 37.2(3)-(5))Exceptions (1)
Listed in s. 30.10, 40.2, 40.3 of the bylaw. | 530 m² for a new lot (s. 37.2(2)) | 30%; 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, the garden suite included (s. 37.2(6), (8)) | House 7.3 m; garden suite 4.2 m and no higher than the house; accessory buildings 3.6 m |
| City of Port Moody Heritage Woods 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. 8.10.2; 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 | 555 m², 15.0 m wide (s. 3.2) | House: 40% 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. 8.10.3, 8.10.4) | House: 10.5 m and 3 storeys; accessory buildings 4.0 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. 8.10.3, 8.10.4) |
| District of Saanich Single Family Dwelling · District of Saanich Zoning Bylaw No. 8200 | One house with a secondary suite, and a garden suite where s. 5.35 allows one (below); or small-scale multi-unit housing where s. 5.37 allows it: houseplexes and at most one house, up to 4 homes (3 on a lot of 279 m² or less, 6 on an eligible lot in a Transit Proximity Area) in at most 2 buildings (Schedule G) | 560 m², 16 m wide (a panhandle lot 835 m² not counting its access strip, 20 m wide) | 40% (small-scale multi-unit housing: Schedule G) | House 7.5 m, 6.5 m with a flat or low-pitched roof (under 3 in 12); a houseplex 11 m (Schedule G); garden suite 6.5 m; accessory buildings 3.75 m, one storey |
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 RS6 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.