R3: Urban Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

On a lot under 4,050 m²: up to 4 homes as a house, a duplex or a houseplex, with secondary suites, a coach house or a garden suite (3 homes, as a house, on a lot under 280 m²), or up to 6 on an eligible lot in a Frequent Bus Stop Area; inside a Transit-Oriented Area, up to 2. On 4,050 m² or more, up to 2: a house with a suite, coach house or garden suite. At most 2 on heritage-protected land or land not connected to community water or sewer (s. B.1). A houseplex only on a corner lot, a through lot or a lot with a lane, and without secondary suites

Main uses

A house, or on a lot under 4,050 m² a duplex or houseplex; a secondary suite, coach house or garden suite, bed and breakfast, boarders, short-term rental

Smallest lot for a subdivision

560 m², 15 m wide, 28 m deep; at most 18 lots per hectare

Lot coverage

House 40% on a lot of 560 m² or less, down 2 points for each 93 m² more to 25% (from 1,262 m²); with a coach house or garden suite 50%, down to 30%; duplex 50%, down to 35%; houseplex 60%, down to 35%

Height limit

House 9 m, 7.3 m with a flatter roof (10 m in a floodplain); duplex 3 storeys and 11 m, 9.3 m with a flatter roof (12 m); houseplex 3 storeys and 9 m, 7.3 m with a flatter roof (12 m); coach house or garden suite 2 storeys and 7 m, roof peak 8.3 m, 6.5 m with a flatter roof (8.5 m); accessory buildings 4 m (5 m where roof and materials match the house)

Setbacks

House: front 6.5 m, rear 7.5 m, sides 1.8 m, street side 3.6 m. Duplex: front 6.0 m (4.0 m with a lane), rear 7.5 m, sides 1.2 m, street side 2.4 m. Houseplex: front 3.5 m, rear 7.5 m, sides 1.2 m, street side 2.4 m. Coach house or garden suite: rear 1.2 m with a lane (1.8 m without), sides 1.2 to 1.8 m, street side 2.4 m, 5.0 m from the main building, never in front. Accessory buildings over 10 m²: not in front, rear 1.2 m with a lane (1.8 m without), sides 1.0 m

Floor area (s. D.2): a house may have a floor area ratio of 0.60 on the first 560 m² of lot and 0.35 on the rest, at most 465 m², 39 m² of it a garage or carport (not needed on an eligible lot in a Frequent Bus Stop Area); a duplex 1.0, basements counted, at most 560 m²; a houseplex 1.0 on the first 560 m² and 0.60 on the rest, basements not counted, at most 600 m², with 22 m² of garage or carport for each home. A house, duplex or houseplex is at least 84 m² on the ground floor.

A flatter roof is one with any part sloped less than 1 in 4 (s. G).

A coach house or garden suite adds 35 to 75 m² of floor area (a coach house's garage not counted) on top of the main building's allowance, or up to 120 m² where the main building leaves some of its allowance unused (s. D.2).

On a lot where the floor area ratio applies, a house's second storey is at most 80% of the first (counting an attached garage and covered front porch), set back from the front or side walls so the step shows from the street; a duplex's second and third storeys at most 90% each (s. D.4).

Livestock, poultry and rabbits only on a lot of 0.4 ha or more: 2 livestock, 6 sheep or goats, 12 poultry (no roosters) for each 0.4 ha, sheltered 36 m from the front and street side and 7.5 m from the rear and sides; up to 4 hens on a lot of more than 669 m² and under 0.4 ha (Part 4, s. B.12).

The number of homes follows the Province's small-scale multi-unit housing rules as the zone's own table writes them: whether a lot is inside a Transit-Oriented Area, or an eligible lot in a Frequent Bus Stop Area (Schedule F of the bylaw), changes the count. We don't read those maps, so ask the City which applies to this lot.

In a floodplain (Part 8), a main building may be taller (the higher figures above) where its ground floor is only parking or other space nobody lives in, and only flood-resistant materials go below the flood construction level.

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).

Bed and breakfast: at most 6 guests in 3 bedrooms, with the owner living in the home; boarders or lodgers: at most 2 per home, owner living there; at most 6 guests for both together (Part 4, s. B.7).

Short-term rental only where the owner of the lot lives on it as their principal residence: in the house or the homes of a multi-unit building, and in at most one secondary suite, coach house or garden suite per lot (Part 4, s. B.7(d)).

A secondary suite is a home inside a house or duplex, at most 40% of the floor area of the home it belongs to, never its own strata lot and not allowed in a houseplex. A coach house sits above or beside a detached garage; a garden suite is a ground-level home of its own; both belong to the main building on the lot (Part 1 definitions).

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