R-1A: Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

One of these (s. 401.2): small-scale multi-unit housing, up to 4 homes (3 on a lot of 280 m² or less) where the lot meets the conditions below; or one house with either a secondary suite or one accessory dwelling unit (such as a coach house), not both. In the ALR, subject to the Agricultural Land Commission Act

Main uses

Homes, home occupations, accessory buildings, a detached garage (for at least two cars)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

371.6 m², 12 m wide, 25 m deep (28 m with a driveway from a rear lane) (s. 401.8)

Lot coverage

35%, or 45% where new homes are added beside a kept older house (infill housing) (s. 401.4)

Height limit

Homes 9.0 m; infill housing within 6.0 m of the rear lot line 4.5 m (a coach house on a lane excepted); accessory buildings that aren't homes 3.75 m

Setbacks

With a driveway from the street: house front at least 6.0 m and at most 7.5 m, rear 3.0 m, sides 1.2 m (3.0 m along a collector or arterial street); an accessory dwelling unit or other accessory building front 6.0 m, rear 1.5 m, sides 1.2 m (4.5 m along a collector or arterial street). With a driveway from a rear lane: house front 2.5 m, rear 1.0 m, sides 1.2 m (2.5 m along a collector or arterial street); a detached garage or coach house rear 0.6 m, sides 0.9 m (1.2 m on a lane or local street; 4.5 m along a collector or arterial street); other accessory buildings front 2.5 m, rear 1.5 m, sides 1.2 m. Accessory buildings under 6 m² 0.6 m from the rear and sides; none in the front yard; porches and stairs may come to 1.5 m of the front or street side (s. 401.5)

Small-scale multi-unit housing (s. 102): up to 4 homes on one lot, attached or detached (3 on a lot of 280 m² or less), only where the lot is inside the Official Community Plan's urban containment boundary, under 4,050 m², on municipal sewer and water, not protected as heritage, outside the Willowbrook Transit-Oriented Area and not reached from an arterial road. A secondary suite may sit in one of these homes; that suites count toward the 4 is our reading. The bylaw sets no higher count near frequent bus stops. Which of these conditions a lot meets we don't check: ask the Township.

A house of 280 m² or more (garages and carports counted, basements not): at most 2 storeys and a basement, the second storey at most 80% of the first, and the first floor at most 0.8 m above the average grade on any side facing a street (less strict on a lot sloping 5% or more) (s. 401.4).

A third storey: none with 1 or 2 homes on the lot; with 3 homes on the lot, at most 50% of the first storey's floor area; with 4, 80% (s. 401.4).

Infill housing means new detached homes on a lot that keeps a house or duplex built before the 2024 small-scale multi-unit housing amendment (Bylaw No. 6020); with it, coverage may go up to 45% (s. 102).

A secondary suite is a home inside a house (or a duplex or small-scale multi-unit building), at most 120 m², built to the BC Building Code; in the ALR it must also meet the Agricultural Land Commission's rules (s. 102). An accessory dwelling unit is a home in a building of its own on the lot, such as a coach house (a home above a detached garage); the zone allows one only where the house has no suite.

Accessory buildings go up only with or after the house (s. 104.15). Parking: one space per home, at least 2 on the lot (s. 107.3). On a lot reached from a lane, all parking is off the lane (s. 401.7).

Home occupations (s. 104.3): the owner lives in the home; not in a secondary suite; on a lot of 1,011.7 m² or less everything stays inside the home; at most 50 m² in all, up to 4 people with at most one employee who lives elsewhere; no vehicle repair, manufacturing or outdoor storage. A licensed family day care for up to 8 children counts as one.

Short-term rental isn't a listed use in this zone, and neither is a bed and breakfast (the bylaw allows one only as part of a farm use, which this zone doesn't list). Ask the Township before renting a home by the night.

Uses the zone doesn't list aren't allowed, even where a general clause might seem to cover them (s. 101.4).

Site-specific exceptions listed in the bylaw by legal description can add or change uses for one property, and development permit areas, the ALR and building rules apply on top. Confirm with the Township of Langley's community development division before you buy or build.

Source: Section 401 of Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw 1987 No. 2500 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-04); Section 100 (definitions and general rules), Township of Langley Zoning Bylaw No. 2500; zone map: Open Government Licence – Township of Langley.