R1: Single Dwelling Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

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)

Main uses

A house (a duplex only on such a corner lot); a secondary suite, boarders, daycare, a home-based business, short-term rental

Smallest lot for a subdivision

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)

Lot coverage

40%

Height limit

9 m with a sloped roof (4 in 12 or steeper), 7 m with a flat one; perimeter walls 7.32 m

Setbacks

Front 4.5 m (4.0 m with a side yard of 3 m or more), sides 1.5 m, flanking side 4.0 m, rear 7.5 m; a garage or carport door facing a street 6 m back; 2.5 m more beside a major road not yet widened (ss. 7.5.1, 7.5.3, 7.5.4, 7.5.6)

The lot sizes are for lots on community water, sewer and storm drains; 45 m deep beside the Nanaimo Parkway, and a watercourse leave strip or geotechnical setback doesn't count toward the area (ss. 7.4.1 to 7.4.4).

On a lot under 1,666.66 m², a house's height may instead be measured from the curb of the highest street beside it: 5.5 m with a sloped roof, 3 m with a flat one (s. 7.6.3).

A wall at the edge of the building is at most 7.32 m high (gables and dormers on up to a quarter of the wall excepted); on the rear and inside sides it may reach 9.14 m if set 10 m from the rear lot line and broken up (ss. 7.6.1, 7.6.6).

Secondary suites: one per home; a house with no other main use may have two, one of them in an accessory building (not in R2 or R3). A suite inside a house is at most 40% of the house's living space and 100 m². One in an accessory building only on an R5 or R14 lot, a corner, through or lane lot, or a lot of 500 m² or more; never on its own title, with 30 m² of private outdoor space, and no bigger than the zone lets an accessory building be, up to 100 m² (s. 6.15).

Boarders: at most two people in two sleeping rooms, inside a house (s. 7.2.3).

Short-term rental (stays under 30 days) only in the operator's own primary residence, the whole home or rooms; one per lot where the home has suites (s. 6.16).

Part 6 (general regulations: accessory buildings, watercourse setbacks, flood levels, fences, home businesses) also applies.

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 City of Nanaimo's planning and development department before you buy or build.

Source: Part 7 of City of Nanaimo Zoning Bylaw No. 4500 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-04); zone map: Open Government Licence – Nanaimo.