RM-12: Multiple Dwelling, 4-storey townhouses

What the zone allows

Homes allowed

Townhouses of 4 storeys, hybrid townhouses (upper homes off a shared entrance and corridor) and seniors housing (conditional) on a lot of 910 m² with 27.4 m of frontage, more than one building with approval; apartments of 4 storeys (conditional) on 1,000 m² with 36.6 m; mixed-use buildings (conditional) only on the sites along Nanaimo Street and at East 1st Avenue and Lakewood Drive that the schedule maps; a triplex (conditional) on 306 m² with 12.8 m; a duplex (outright), with secondary suites, infill keeping a character house and conversions of a character house (conditional), and a 2-home conversion (outright, no additions), all under the RT-5 district's rules; a single detached house, with a secondary suite, or a laneway house only where it lawfully stood on September 18, 2018 (outright); lock-off units in a multiple dwelling or mixed-use building, at most 1 for every 3 homes (ss. 1.1, 2.1, 2.2.3, 2.2.4, 2.2.6 to 2.2.12, 3.1.2.1, 3.1.2.2, 3.2.2.1, 3.2.2.2, 3.3.2.1, 3.3.2.2)

Main uses

Townhouses, apartments, mixed-use buildings (with small shops, a grocery or drug store, barbers, Class 1 restaurants, artist studios or live-work units only), triplexes, duplexes, seniors housing; child day care, community care (Class A outright), churches, schools, a hospital, a social service centre, a farmers' market, bed and breakfast and short-term rental, mostly conditional (ss. 2.1, 2.2.5)

Smallest lot for a subdivision

1,000 m² and 36.6 m of frontage for apartments and mixed-use buildings; 910 m² and 27.4 m for townhouses and seniors housing (the Director of Planning may vary the area for townhouses); 306 m² and 12.8 m for a triplex (ss. 3.1.2.1, 3.1.2.2, 3.2.2.1, 3.2.2.2, 3.2.2.17, 3.3.2.1, 3.3.2.2, 3.4.2.1, 3.4.2.2)

Lot coverage

Apartments, mixed-use buildings, townhouses and triplexes 55% of the lot, seniors housing and other uses 45%; at most 70% under hard surfaces. Floor space ratio 1.70 for apartments, mixed-use buildings and hybrid townhouses, 1.45 for townhouses, 0.90 for triplexes, 1.45 for seniors housing (1.70 on 1,000 m² with 36.6 m of frontage), 0.75 for other uses (ss. 3.1.1.1, 3.1.2.7, 3.1.2.8, 3.2.1.1, 3.2.2.7, 3.2.2.8, 3.3.1.1, 3.3.2.7, 3.3.2.8, 3.4.1.1, 3.4.2.7, 3.4.2.8, 3.5.1.1, 3.5.2.5, 3.5.2.6)

Height limit

Apartments and mixed-use buildings 13.7 m and 4 storeys; townhouses and seniors housing 12.2 m and 4 storeys, the fourth a partial storey of at most 60% of the one below (seniors housing up to 13.7 m with approval on a large lot); rear buildings 9.5 m and 3 storeys, the third partial (10.7 m with approval); triplexes and other uses 10.7 m and 3 storeys, the third a partial storey of at most half the one below. Accessory buildings 3.7 m (4.6 m at the peak), at most 48 m² together, within 7.9 m of the rear line (ss. 2.2.16, 2.2.17, 3.1.2.3, 3.1.2.12, 3.1.2.13, 3.2.2.3, 3.2.2.11 to 3.2.2.13, 3.3.2.3, 3.3.2.9, 3.4.2.3, 3.4.2.9, 3.4.2.10, 3.5.2.1, 3.5.2.7)

Setbacks

Front 3.7 m. Apartments and mixed-use buildings: sides 2.1 m, rear 6.1 m. Townhouses, triplexes, seniors housing and other uses: sides 1.2 m, rear 1.8 m. Buildings at most 26.0 m wide; 3.1 m between buildings side by side or between rear ones, 7.3 m between front and rear ones (9.1 m where raised or sunken entrances' stairs reach into the courtyard) (ss. 3.1.2.4 to 3.1.2.6, 3.1.2.9, 3.1.2.10, 3.1.2.15, 3.2.2.4 to 3.2.2.6, 3.2.2.9, 3.2.2.10, 3.2.2.15, 3.3.2.4 to 3.3.2.6, 3.4.2.4 to 3.4.2.6, 3.5.2.2 to 3.5.2.4)

The schedule's aim is 4-storey townhouses, hybrid townhouses included, with apartments on larger lots and mixed-use buildings on some larger lots, mostly on Nanaimo Street, sited and massed to fit what stands (s. 1.1).

Townhouses and mixed-use buildings up to a floor space ratio of 1.45 need a quarter of their homes with 3 bedrooms; apartments and mixed-use buildings above 1.45, a quarter with 2 bedrooms and 10% with 3, which the Director of Planning may vary to 35% with 2 or more (ss. 2.2.2, 2.2.13).

Each habitable room needs a window on an outside wall (s. 4.3).

Outright uses get a permit once they meet the rules; conditional uses are at the Director of Planning's discretion, weighing the schedule's intent, Council's policies and guidelines and what neighbours, owners and tenants submit (s. 2.1).

A secondary suite: a smaller home inside a house or duplex with its own outside door (an inside door to the main home is allowed), one kitchen and a full bathroom, at least 37 m² (29.7 m² with the Director of Planning's approval); it may be in a basement (Section 2, ss. 10.20.3, 11.3.1.2, 11.3.3).

A lock-off unit: a smaller home inside a larger one with its own outside door and a shared inside door that locks, 26 to 29.7 m² (19 m² with the Director of Planning's approval), one kitchen and a full bathroom (Section 2, ss. 11.3.1.2, 11.3.1.3, 11.3.3).

One family to a home, plus at most 2 boarders or lodgers; no home rented for less than 30 days except as a hotel, bed and breakfast or short-term rental (ss. 11.3.1.1, 11.3.1.7). The smallest home is 37 m² (29.7 m² with the Director of Planning's approval) (s. 11.3.1.2).

Short-term rental is a conditional use, only in the operator's principal residence (a home, secondary suite, laneway house or lock-off unit); never in an accessory building or a vehicle, or alongside a bed and breakfast; at most 2 adults to a bedroom and one booking at a time; its permit lasts 2 years (s. 11.9.1).

Bed and breakfast: at most 2 bedrooms and 4 guests, the operator living in the home, and no boarders at the same time (s. 11.9.2).

Sections 2 (definitions), 10 (general regulations) and 11 (use-specific regulations) of the by-law also apply. Parking is set by the separate Parking By-law, which we haven't summarised.

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 Vancouver's development, buildings and licensing department before you buy or build.

Source: the RM-12 District Schedule (June 2026) of Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575 (summarised in our words, checked 2026-10-05 and 2026-10-06); Section 11, Use-Specific Regulations (February 2026), Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575; Section 2, Definitions (June 2026), Zoning and Development By-law No. 3575; zone map: Open Government Licence – Vancouver.