MR2: Medium Density Townhouse

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Townhouses (homes each with its own outside door and private open space other than a balcony) built as one planned project on the lot: at most 62 homes per hectare and a floor area of 0.9 times the lot area, amenity space not counted (ss. B.1, D; Part 1 definitions). Inside a Transit-Oriented Area or a Frequent Bus Stop Area, one lock-off suite as well; the zone doesn't say whether that is one on the lot or one in each home: unclear, so ask the City (s. B.4)

Main uses

Townhouses; child care, short-term rental and, inside a Transit-Oriented Area or Frequent Bus Stop Area, a lock-off suite. No back-to-back townhouses (ss. B, J.3)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

2,000 m², 30 m wide, 30 m deep (s. C)

Lot coverage

45% (s. E)

Height limit

Main buildings 13 m; a building for the residents' amenity space 11 m; other accessory buildings and structures 4.5 m (s. G)

Setbacks

Main buildings: front 4.5 m (3.0 m to a covered porch), rear 6.0 m and sides 6.0 m (4.0 m to a deck or balcony on the main or second floor), street side or flanking lane 4.5 m (3.0 m to a covered porch) (s. F). The table sets none for accessory buildings: unclear, so ask the City. No parking in the setbacks (s. H.4)

The zone is for medium density townhouses built to one design (s. A). It replaced RM-15; bylaws that name that zone now mean MR2 (Part 3, s. C).

A lock-off suite is a smaller home inside a townhouse, with its own door to common property, that can be locked off from it (Part 1 definitions): at least 30 m² and under 40% of the townhouse's living space (s. J.4).

The zone also says that a "Section B.4" applies to townhouses with building permits issued after May 12, 2025, without saying which part's section it means: unclear, so ask the City (s. B.5).

Parking: the number per home is in Part 5's Table D.1; every resident space underground or inside the buildings; up to half in tandem (a tenth of those underground), each pair attached to one home and held by its owner (s. H).

Amenity space for residents on the lot: 4.0 m² for each home, 6.0 m² for one with a lock-off suite, at most 800 m² a building (Part 4, s. B.6; s. J.1).

Child care has its own access from the street, an open play area on the lot and at most 3.0 m² for each home (s. J.2).

Land not built on or paved is landscaped, mature trees kept, with a 1.5 m planted strip along the street; garbage screened to 2.5 m (s. I).

A townhouse complex here is usually a strata: what an owner may do with a home (renting it, changes) is in the strata's bylaws as well, so read them.

Short-term rental only where the owner of the lot lives on it as their principal residence: in the homes and in at most one lock-off suite per lot (Part 4, s. B.7(d)).

Every use the zone allows depends on City sewer, water, drainage and road works being in place and adequate; where they aren't, the lot may be used only as the A-1 zone allows until the owner extends them on the City's terms (Part 2, ss. B and C; Part 4, s. B.4).

Uses the zone doesn't list aren't allowed (Part 2, s. A).

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 Surrey's planning and development department before you buy or build.

Source: Part 21 of Surrey Zoning By-law, 1993, No. 12000 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-04); zone map: Open Government Licence – Surrey.