RR1, RR2, RR3, RU-3 and A2 Zoning in BC: What You Can Build on Rural and Acreage Lots

Most rural and acreage zones in BC allow 2 or 3 homes on a lot: a house, a suite and sometimes a carriage house. But the same code can mean something different in the next city over, so here is what each one allows, city by city.

The short answer

• 2 to 3 homes on most RR and A-zoned lots
• 4 the most any of these zones allows, on small serviced lots only
• 4,050 m² about one acre: the lot size above which Bill 44's multiplex rules stop applying

On most rural and acreage lots in BC you can build 2 or 3 homes: one house, a secondary suite inside it, and in some cities a detached carriage house or garden suite as well. A few zones that carry rural-sounding codes allow 4, but only on smaller serviced lots inside a city's growth boundary.

The catch is that zone codes are set by each municipality, not the province. RR2 in Kelowna and RR2 in Lake Country are different zones with different rules, and RU-3 in Kelowna is not a rural zone at all. Always read a code together with the city that issued it.

RR1 zoning

RR1 is usually the largest-lot rural residential zone in a city. It is built around one house on an acreage, often with room for hobby farming.

In Kelowna, RR1 allows a single detached house, a secondary suite and a carriage house: 3 homes. New RR1 lots must be at least 4 hectares without sewer, or 8,000 m² with sewer. In Lake Country, RR1 (Bylaw 561, s.14.1) allows one house plus one secondary or accessory suite, so 2 homes, on parcels of at least 4 hectares. In Peachland, RR1 Rural Residential allows a house plus one secondary suite or garden suite: 2 homes.

Kelowna RR1 · Lake Country RR1 · Peachland RR1

RR2 zoning

RR2 is normally the next step down in lot size: a smaller rural or country residential parcel, closer to town, with the same basic housing mix.

Kelowna's RR2 allows the same 3 homes as RR1 (house, suite and carriage house) on lots of at least 1 hectare without sewer or 1,600 m² with sewer. Lake Country's RR2 (s.14.2) allows 2: a house and one suite, on parcels of 1 hectare or more. Peachland calls its RR2 zone Country Residential and allows a house plus a secondary or garden suite, 2 homes, with a 2,000 m² minimum lot.

Kelowna RR2 · Lake Country RR2 · Peachland RR2

RR3 zoning

RR3 is where rural zoning starts to meet Bill 44. In Lake Country, RR3 Rural Residential 3 lists small-scale multiple housing as a permitted use. Under s.14.3.7 of Bylaw 561, a lot can hold up to 4 homes, but only if it is inside the Urban Containment Boundary, connected to municipal sewer and water, and no larger than 4,050 m². Any RR3 lot that misses one of those tests drops back to 2 homes.

That is the pattern to expect across BC. The province's small-scale multi-unit housing rules target serviced urban lots of up to 4,050 m². Rural lots that are bigger, on a well or septic field, or outside a growth boundary usually stay at a house and a suite or two.

Lake Country RR3

RU-3 zoning: four different zones

RU-3 is the code that causes the most confusion, because the cities that use it mean very different things by it.

In the Township of Langley, RU-3 is a rural zone with an 8 hectare minimum lot that permits all the uses of the RU-1 Rural zone, including agriculture and residential use under the bylaw's rural housing sections. In West Kelowna, RU3 is Rural Residential Medium Parcel: one house or modular home plus either a secondary suite or a carriage house, so 2 homes. In Summerland, RU3 is Residential Sub-Urban: 4 homes inside the Urban Containment Boundary and 3 outside it. And in Kelowna, RU3 is Small Lot Housing, an urban zone for narrow lots that allows 4 homes per lot and buildings up to 11 m and 3 storeys.

Township of Langley RU-3 · West Kelowna RU3 · Summerland RU3 · Kelowna RU3

A2 zoning

A zones are agricultural. A1 is usually the general farm zone and A2 a variation on it: a larger minimum parcel, a different kind of farming, or rural land outside the Agricultural Land Reserve. Most allow a farm house plus one or two smaller homes.

In Kelowna, A2 allows a house, a secondary suite and a carriage house, 3 homes, with only one single detached house per lot. In Summerland, A2 Agricultural Large Acreage allows a house and a secondary suite, with a carriage house possible where servicing and the Agricultural Land Commission allow it. Peachland's A2 is Rural (Non-ALR) land and allows a house plus a secondary or garden suite. Abbotsford's A2 and Maple Ridge's A-2 Upland Agricultural both allow up to 3 homes, Surrey's A-2 allows one house with a secondary suite, and Port Moody's A2 is a development reserve for large parcels awaiting a site-specific plan. Delta's A2 is a golf course and agriculture zone, not a housing zone.

Kelowna A2 · Abbotsford A2 · Summerland A2 · Peachland A2 · Surrey A-2

Minimum lot size by city: rural residential and agricultural zones

Lot size is the other number people search for. These are the minimum lot areas in each bylaw, converted to hectares (1 ha = 10,000 m²). They decide whether an existing parcel can be subdivided or a new lot created, and in some zones whether a second home is allowed at all.

Rural residential zones step down in size from about 4 hectares at the top to about 0.25 hectares at the bottom, which is why the same RR code can describe a small hobby farm in one city and a large estate lot in another. Agricultural zones start higher: 2 hectares is the smallest common parcel, and 8 hectares is the usual figure in the Fraser Valley.

Kelowna RR2 · Lake Country RR3 · Peachland RR2 · West Kelowna RU4 · Abbotsford RR · Chilliwack RR · Kelowna A1 · Kelowna A2 · Vernon AGRS · Summerland A2 · Maple Ridge A-2 · Abbotsford A1 · Abbotsford A2

Two lookalikes that are not rural

Kelowna's RU3 is covered above: despite the code, it is an urban small-lot zone. The other one to watch for is Vancouver's RR zones. RR-1, RR-2 and RR-3 in Vancouver stand for Residential Rental, not Rural Residential. RR-1 permits triplexes and townhouses where every unit is secured rental, up to 8 units, and the RR-2 and RR-3 districts permit rental apartments of 4 to 6 storeys. Nothing about them is rural.

Vancouver RR-1

What decides the count on a specific lot

The zone sets the ceiling. Four things usually decide whether a rural lot reaches it. Servicing comes first: many of these zones only allow the extra home where the lot is on community water or sewer, and an unserviced lot can lose its carriage house. The Agricultural Land Reserve is second, because ALC rules on additional residences apply to ALR land whatever the zone says. Third is the growth boundary: an Urban Containment Boundary line is what moves Lake Country RR3 from 2 to 4 and Summerland RU3 from 3 to 4. Last is lot size, which matters most for creating new lots by subdivision rather than for building on the lot you already have.

ZoneScout checks the zone, the ALR layer and the servicing and boundary data each city publishes, and returns the unit count for a specific address with the bylaw section behind it.

Okanagan Bill 44 map · Kelowna zones · Lake Country zones · What is RU1 zoning in BC?

Sources

1. City of Kelowna, Zoning Bylaw No. 12375
2. District of Lake Country, Zoning Bylaw 561, 2007 (consolidated), ss.14.1 to 14.3
3. City of West Kelowna, Zoning Bylaw No. 0320, s.9.3
4. Township of Langley, Zoning Bylaw No. 2500, Sections 201 to 203
5. District of Summerland, Peachland, Abbotsford, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Port Moody and Delta zoning bylaws, as linked from each ZoneScout zone page

Frequently asked questions

What is RR1 zoning in BC?

RR1 is usually a city's largest-lot rural residential zone. In Kelowna it allows 3 homes (a house, a secondary suite and a carriage house). In Lake Country and Peachland it allows 2 (a house and a suite). The exact rules depend on the municipality.

What can I build on RR2 zoning?

In Kelowna, RR2 allows a house, a secondary suite and a carriage house. In Lake Country and Peachland, RR2 allows a house and one suite. Servicing and the Agricultural Land Reserve can lower the count on a specific lot.

What is RR3 zoning?

In Lake Country, RR3 Rural Residential 3 allows up to 4 homes on a lot inside the Urban Containment Boundary, connected to sewer and water, and no larger than 4,050 m². Otherwise it allows 2.

What does RU-3 zoning mean?

It depends on the city. In the Township of Langley RU-3 is a rural zone with an 8 hectare minimum lot. In West Kelowna RU3 is Rural Residential Medium Parcel (2 homes). In Summerland it is Residential Sub-Urban (3 or 4 homes), and in Kelowna it is Small Lot Housing, an urban zone allowing 4 homes.

What is A2 zoning?

A2 is an agricultural zone. In Kelowna it allows a house, a suite and a carriage house; in most other BC cities it allows a house and a suite. On ALR land, Agricultural Land Commission rules can further limit residences.

Does Bill 44 apply to rural and acreage lots?

Mostly not. The province's small-scale multi-unit housing rules are aimed at serviced urban lots of up to 4,050 m². Larger lots, unserviced lots, lots outside an urban containment boundary and ALR land usually keep their existing house-and-suite allowances.

What is the minimum lot size for rural residential zoning in BC?

It varies by city and zone. RR1 is usually the largest at about 4 hectares (Kelowna, Lake Country), RR2 about 1 hectare, and the smallest rural residential zones go down to roughly 0.25 hectares (Lake Country RR3, Peachland RR2). Agricultural zones start at about 2 hectares and reach 8 to 30 hectares depending on the city. Check the zone page for the exact figure.