PlaceDossier / Zoning / Zone codes
RT-3 zoning in BC
RT-3 (also written RT3) means whatever the bylaw that zones the lot says: there is no provincial RT-3 zone. 3 bylaws we've summarised use it, from 3 local governments. It goes by 3 names: Multiplex Residential, Residential Cluster, Two-Family Dwelling, Strathcona character. What it allows is below, bylaw by bylaw.
RT-3 in each bylaw
| Local government | Homes allowed | Smallest lot for a subdivision | Lot coverage | Height limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Coquitlam Multiplex Residential · City of Coquitlam Zoning Bylaw No. 3000, 1996 | A multiplex: three or more homes on the lot, attached, detached or semi-detached (not apartments, townhouses, or a triplex or fourplex in one building as the bylaw defines them); no count set beyond the floor area ratio (ss. 2201, 2207(2), (7)) | 930 m² (740 m² for a lot zoned RT-3 before July 8, 2019) (s. 2207(4)) | 50% (s. 2207(6)) | Principal buildings 9.5 m, or 11.0 m where at least 80% of the roof is pitched 3 in 12 or steeper; detached accessory buildings 3.7 m, 4.6 m with a roof of 4 in 12 or steeper (s. 2207(10)) |
| City of Prince George Residential Cluster · City of Prince George Zoning Bylaw No. 7850, 2007 | Houses, two-unit housing, fourplexes and row and stacked row houses in a planned cluster, up to 25 homes a hectare (s. 10.8.5); a secondary suite (s. 10.8.3). The zone's density rule doesn't repeat the small-scale multi-unit housing rule the single residential zones carry, so whether s. 5.18 lifts the count on a lot here is unclear: ask the City | 0.2 ha, 35.0 m wide (s. 10.8.4) | 45% (s. 10.8.5) | 10.0 m and 2.5 storeys; accessory buildings 5.0 m (ss. 10.8.5, 10.8.6) |
| City of Vancouver Two-Family Dwelling, Strathcona character · Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575 | Every new home is conditional: a single detached house, with or without a secondary suite; a duplex; infill; a multiple dwelling; a micro dwelling; a rooming house; more than one principal building on a lot; or a conversion of a building that stood on November 3, 1992 (a 2-home conversion with no additions or outside changes is outright). No laneway houses or lock-off units are listed (ss. 2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.4, 2.2.5) | 260 m² for a house or duplex (less for a lot on title before November 3, 1992), 418 m² for infill, 510 m² for a multiple dwelling or rooming house; a multiple dwelling on at most one lot or two adjoining lots on title before November 3, 1992, no more than 15.3 m wide together (ss. 3.1.2.1, 3.1.2.2, 3.1.2.9, 3.1.2.10) | 45% of the lot (50% with infill or more than one building, with the Director of Planning's approval). Floor space ratio 0.60; the Director of Planning may allow 0.75 for homes and 0.95 over the lot for infill that keeps an existing building; 1.00 for a multiple dwelling or seniors housing with a quarter of its homes owned or leased by government or a non-profit and kept for people with disabilities or low incomes (ss. 3.1.1.1, 3.1.1.2, 3.1.2.8, 3.1.2.20) | 10.7 m and 3 storeys, the third a partial storey of at most half the one below; a building in the rear yard 8.5 m. Accessory buildings 3.7 m (4.6 m at the peak), in the rear yard (ss. 2.2.8, 3.1.2.3, 3.1.2.11, 3.1.2.13) |
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 RT-3 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.