Bill 44 and Bill 47: The Complete Guide to BC's New Housing Laws

Everything ZoneScout has written on BC's 2023 housing laws in one place, in the order most people need it: what the laws are, whether your lot qualifies, what fits on it, and how the rules differ city to city.

The short answer

Bill 44 makes most single-family zoning allow 3, 4 or 6 homes per lot with no rezoning.
Bill 47 sets minimum heights and densities near rapid transit that a city cannot refuse when you apply to rezone.
A lot is under one or the other, never both, and neither one overrides a covenant on title.
The fastest answer for a specific lot is to look up its address.

Start here: what the two laws are

Both laws passed in late 2023 as part of the same provincial housing package. Bill 44 covers ordinary single-family neighbourhoods. Bill 47 covers land close to SkyTrain stations and major bus exchanges.

What is Bill 44 (SSMUH)?. The law behind small-scale multi-unit housing: 3, 4 or 6 homes on most single-family lots, by right.
What is a Transit-Oriented Area?. Bill 47's rings around transit, the minimum storeys and FAR in each, and why they only matter at a rezoning.
Bill 44 vs Bill 47. Side by side: which one applies to your lot, and why a lot can never be under both.

What is Bill 44? · What is a Transit-Oriented Area? · Bill 44 vs Bill 47

Does your lot qualify?

Bill 44's 3, 4 and 6 unit minimums apply only to lots that pass seven provincial tests. These articles walk through each one, including the two that trip up the most lots.

The seven tests, with a checker · The servicing exemption · Zoning vs title and covenants · Rural and acreage zones

Will it fit, and what does it take?

A unit count is the start. Height, floor area, coverage and setbacks decide what you can actually build, and some projects still need a rezoning or a variance.

Will four homes fit? · FSR, coverage and setbacks · Rezoning vs a variance · Laneway and coach houses · Check before you buy

How cities applied it

The rules are provincial, but every city wrote its own bylaw to meet them, and the results differ a lot. These are ZoneScout's lot-by-lot counts.

26 cities ranked · Metro Vancouver's six-unit lots · Five Metro cities compared · The Okanagan compared · Vancouver's 175,000 homes

See it on a map

ZoneScout's Bill 44 maps colour every residential lot by the homes its zoning allows. Click any lot for its units, height, setbacks and the source bylaw.

Vancouver · Surrey · Burnaby · Richmond · Coquitlam · Delta

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What are Bill 44 and Bill 47 in BC?

Two provincial housing laws passed in 2023. Bill 44 requires most single-family zones to allow 3, 4 or 6 homes per lot without a rezoning. Bill 47 creates Transit-Oriented Areas near rapid transit and bus exchanges, where a city cannot refuse a rezoning on density grounds up to a prescribed minimum.

How do I know which law applies to my lot?

If the lot is within 800 m of a listed rapid transit station or 400 m of a listed bus exchange, it is in a Transit-Oriented Area and Bill 47 applies. Otherwise, a single-family or duplex zone falls under Bill 44, subject to its seven tests.