R6: Semi-Detached Residential

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

On a lot of 280 m² or more: up to 4 homes in one half of a semi-detached building or a duplex, with secondary suites, a coach house or a garden suite, or up to 6 in a duplex on an eligible lot in a Frequent Bus Stop Area. Under 280 m²: up to 3, in one half of a semi-detached building. Inside a Transit-Oriented Area, up to 2; at most 2 on heritage-protected land or land not connected to community water or sewer (s. B.1)

Main uses

One half of a semi-detached building (built to the shared lot line with its pair) or a duplex; a secondary suite, coach house or garden suite, short-term rental

Smallest lot for a subdivision

200 m², 7.2 m wide, 28 m deep (corner 226 m², 8.7 m wide); at most 50 lots per hectare

Lot coverage

60%

Height limit

Semi-detached building 11 m, 9.3 m with a flatter roof (12 m in a floodplain); duplex 3 storeys and 11 m, 9.3 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 3 m (5 m where roof and materials match the house)

Setbacks

Semi-detached building or duplex: front 3.5 m (6.0 m to an attached garage; 2.0 m to a covered porch), rear 6.5 m, side 1.2 m and none at the shared lot line, street side 2.7 m (duplex 1.2 m). Coach house or garden suite: rear 0.5 m, side 3.0 m (0 m at the shared lot line), street side 1.2 m, 5.0 m from the main building, never in front

Floor area (s. D.2): a semi-detached building at most 310 m² not counting the basement, 37 m² of it a garage or carport; a duplex at most 310 m² counting basements, 44 m² of garage or carport (neither needed on an eligible lot in a Frequent Bus Stop Area).

Driveways only from a rear lane; at most 2 vehicles parked outdoors and no campers, boats or trailers (s. H).

The setback table gives other figures to an attached garage; read it in the bylaw before you plan one (s. F.1).

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).

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).

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