What BC's small-scale housing law makes every city allow

The three numbers, and where they are written

Section 481.3 of the Local Government Act contains no unit counts at all. It says a zoning bylaw must allow at least "the prescribed number of housing units" and leaves the numbers to a regulation. That regulation is the Local Government Zoning Bylaw Regulation, B.C. Reg. 262/2023. Section 2 sets the minimum at 3 units for a parcel (a legal lot) of 280 square metres or smaller and 4 units for a parcel larger than 280 square metres. It also sets a population test of 5,000 people, measured by the most recent federal census.

The six-unit rule sits in section 481.3 (5). The regulation fills it in with three figures: 6 units, a distance of 400 metres, and a parcel size of 281 square metres. A bus stop counts only if at least one route is scheduled to stop there at least every 15 minutes on average, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Both time windows must be met. A stop with 15-minute service on weekdays and 30-minute service on Sundays fails the test.

Vancouver works under its own statute. Section 565.03 of the Vancouver Charter follows section 481.3 closely, and the Vancouver Zoning Bylaw Regulation, B.C. Reg. 264/2023, sets the same 3, 4 and 6 unit numbers, the same 400 metres and the same 281 square metres. A landowner in Vancouver and a landowner in Burnaby start from the same provincial numbers, even though the two cities write their zones in different ways.

Which lots the law reaches

The law applies inside what it calls a restricted zone. After Bill 25 received Royal Assent on 27 November 2025, a restricted zone for the 3 to 6 unit rules is any zone, other than a manufactured home zone, where the homes allowed on a parcel would otherwise be limited to one of five things: a detached house, a house with one extra unit, a house with a suite and one extra unit on the lot, a duplex, or a duplex with extra units. The province's policy manual states the result plainly. Outside exempt areas, a city can no longer zone land only for single-family or duplex homes.

The unit minimums then apply by location, in a set order. First, any parcel wholly or partly inside an urban containment boundary set by a regional growth strategy. An urban containment boundary is the line a regional plan draws around land meant for urban growth. If that does not apply, a parcel inside a boundary set by the city's official community plan, in a municipality over 5,000 people. If neither applies, any parcel in a municipality over 5,000 people. Surrey's page, for example, applies its rules to residential lots under 4,050 square metres inside the Metro Vancouver Urban Containment Boundary.

Land outside those areas gets a smaller rule under section 481.3 (3): at least one secondary suite, or one extra unit in another building, on a lot zoned for a single detached house. And section 481.3 (5.2) confirms that all of these requirements apply only to parcels where residential use is already allowed.

Exemptions, and what a city may still control

Section 481.4 lists land where the 3 to 6 unit minimums do not apply: land protected under section 12.1 (2) of the Heritage Conservation Act; land designated as protected under a section 611 heritage bylaw on the date the section came into force; land not connected to a water or sewer system run by a municipality or regional district; land in a zone whose minimum subdivision lot size is 4,050 square metres; and any parcel larger than 4,050 square metres. The Bill 25 bulletin adds land under a heritage revitalization agreement made under section 610 (2.1) as of Bill 25's Royal Assent.

The regulation adds two more. Section 3 (1) of B.C. Reg. 262/2023 exempts land subject to a hazardous condition, where a qualified professional certifies to the city that the required density would increase the risk and the risk cannot practically be reduced. Section 3 (2) exempts land inside a transit-oriented area, which has its own provincial density rules, covered in the transit chapter of this guide.

The law sets a minimum unit count. The other site controls stay with the city under its zoning power in section 479: height, setbacks, lot coverage and floor area. There are limits on how the city uses them. Section 457.1 says development permit areas, heritage alteration permits and heritage conservation areas must not be used in a way that unreasonably prohibits or restricts the required density. Section 481.5 bars conditional density rules for the minimum units, so a city cannot make the third or fourth unit depend on paying for an amenity. It may attach conditions to one of the six units on a bus stop lot, and to any unit above the minimum.

The province's policy manual gives advice that cities must consider under section 481.3 (7). It recommends allowing at least three storeys and 11 metres of height in restricted zones, and it notes that a building above three storeys usually needs a second exit under the BC Building Code. Each city decides how far to follow that advice, which is why heights differ between cities.

Two deadlines: 2024, then 2026

Bill 44 required cities to update their zoning bylaws by 30 June 2024, except where the province granted an extension. Bill 25, the Housing and Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, widened the definition of a restricted zone to catch zones that allowed a house with a suite and a garden suite, and zones where any parcel was limited to a house or duplex. Section 481.3 (2) now reads that a zoning bylaw must comply "by June 30, 2026".

The province's bulletin dated 28 November 2025 sets out what each affected city must do: adopt a compliant zoning bylaw by 30 June 2026, tell the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs in writing, and update its official community plan by 30 June 2027. The policy manual says restricted zones are identified using the zoning in force at Royal Assent on 27 November 2025. Extension requests were due by 1 June 2026 for infrastructure reasons and by 30 June 2026 for extraordinary circumstances, and no extension may run past 31 December 2030. New Westminster's Queensborough neighbourhood, for example, has an extension to 4 May 2029.

A city that misses the deadline can face a ministerial order that overrides its zoning, after notice and a chance to fix it. And section 464 (4) bars a city from holding a public hearing on a zoning bylaw proposed only to comply with section 481.3.

Two practical points follow for a landowner. Richmond's bulletin states that neither Bill 44 nor the city's zoning requires an owner to build more units. And Pitt Meadows' guide states that the provincial legislation does not override restrictive covenants on title. The zoning sets what is allowed. The title, covered in the reading-your-zone chapter, can still say less.