How Many Units Can You Build on a Maple Ridge Lot?
Maple Ridge is the one city in the region that publishes its own answer. The City maps a small-scale unit band onto every parcel, so you do not have to guess whether a bus stop counts.
Every other municipality in Metro Vancouver leaves you to work out whether your lot is within 400 m of a prescribed bus stop, which is a provincial designation and not the same thing as being near a bus. Maple Ridge did the work and published the result.
The City's planning department maps an Urban Infill Residential band onto each parcel: up to 6 units, up to 4 units, up to 3 units inside the Urban Containment Boundary, up to 3 units limited in form, or subject to the Official Community Plan and Zoning Bylaw. That band, not your zone code, is the number that governs.
| Situation | Units | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 3 units (UCB) band | 3 units | Limited in form, not a triplex |
| Up to 4 units band | 4 units | Lots above 280 m², inside the boundary |
| Up to 6 units band | 6 units | Within 400 m of a prescribed bus stop |
The five bands, and what each one really means
- Up To 6 Units. The full small-scale entitlement, on a lot inside the Urban Containment Boundary and within 400 m of a prescribed bus stop.
- Up To 4 Units. A lot inside the boundary, above 280 m² and no larger than 0.4 ha.
- Up to 3 Units (UCB). Inside the boundary but above 0.4 ha, or at or below 280 m².
- Up to 3 units, limited in form. The count is 3, but the form is fixed. See below.
- Subject to the City's OCP and Zoning Bylaw. No small-scale band applies and the zone governs on its own terms.
The RUR zone carries the same ladder in its own tier table, which is where the figures in the zone table further down come from.
Three units does not always mean a triplex
The Agricultural Land Reserve outranks Urban Infill
Zoning Bylaw 7600-2019 says twice, at sections 402.11.6(a) and 402.12.1(f), that on land in the Agricultural Land Reserve the Agricultural Land Commission Act and its regulations shall prevail. Urban Infill Residential is a municipal permission, and the ALC Act sits above it.
Roughly 2,000 of Maple Ridge's mapped lots are in the ALR. On those the unit count is usually still 3, arrived at through the farm home plate rules rather than the small-scale ones, and the province separately caps how large the residence itself may be. If your property is in the ALR, that is the framework to plan against.
There is no floor space ratio on a Maple Ridge house lot
This surprises people arriving from Vancouver or Burnaby. Maple Ridge's single detached and infill residential zones publish no FSR at all. RS-1, RS-1a, RS-1b, RS-1c, RS-1d, RS-2, RS-3, SRS, RT-2 and RUR have none. Floor space ratio appears only in the RM apartment zones, the commercial and institutional zones, and comprehensive development zones.
A blank FSR on a Maple Ridge house lot is the bylaw, not missing data. What controls bulk instead is lot coverage, height and setbacks: RUR allows 60% coverage at 9.5 m, while most of the RS zones sit between 25% and 40% coverage.
RT-2, for when small-scale is not enough
Alongside the small-scale framework, Maple Ridge keeps RT-2 Ground-Oriented Residential Infill, which is built around triplex, fourplex and courtyard residential forms rather than a unit ladder. A courtyard residential development in RT-2 reaches 8 units, on a lot of at least 950 m² outside the Town Centre Area or 900 m² within it. Fourplex form needs 850 m² and 800 m² respectively, triplex form 800 m² and 700 m².
RT-2 is a zone you are rezoned into rather than one your lot is likely to carry today, but it is the next step up for a large lot that has run out of room under the small-scale bands.
If your title still says R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 or RT-1
Bylaw 8104-2026, adopted 14 July 2026, deleted those five zones from the Zoning Bylaw and rezoned the affected land to RUR. The old regulations survive in only three cases: a lot named on the new Schedule I, a rezoning given first reading before 14 July 2026, and a subdivision application accepted before that date.
If none of those apply to you, the deleted zone on an older document is not your zoning any more, and the RUR small-scale rules are.
The Maple Ridge zones behind a small-scale unit count
| Zone | Name | Dwelling units |
|---|---|---|
| RUR | Urban Infill Residential | Up to 6 |
| RS-1 | Single Detached Residential | Up to 3 |
| RS-1a | Single Detached (Amenity) Residential | Up to 3 |
| RS-1b | Single Detached (Medium Density) Residential | Up to 3 |
| RS-1c | Single Detached (Low Density) Residential | Up to 3 |
| RS-1d | Single Detached (Half Acre) Residential | Up to 3 |
| RS-2 | Single Detached Suburban Residential | Up to 3 |
| RS-3 | Single Detached Rural Residential | Up to 3 |
| SRS | Special Urban Residential | Up to 3 |
RUR, Urban Infill Residential, is where the full small-scale ladder lives. The RS zones are the single detached districts most lots still carry, and the figure shown is the bylaw's own count for them. Where the City's published band says more than the zone does, the band is the operative answer.
Every Maple Ridge zoning district, A to Z
Maple Ridge Bill 44 FAQ
How many units can I build on my lot in Maple Ridge?
Maple Ridge publishes a small-scale band for each parcel: up to 6 units within 400 m of a prescribed bus stop, up to 4 units on a lot above 280 m² and no larger than 0.4 ha inside the Urban Containment Boundary, and up to 3 units otherwise. Two of the 3-unit bands are limited in form, meaning a house plus a secondary suite plus a garden suite rather than a triplex.
Does Maple Ridge publish its own Bill 44 unit counts?
Yes, and it is the only municipality in the region that does. The City's planning services map an Urban Infill Residential category onto every parcel, which resolves the 400 m prescribed bus stop question that every other city leaves to the applicant. Where the City's band and a zone table disagree, the band is the answer.
What does 'up to 3 units, limited in form' mean in Maple Ridge?
It means three dwelling units in one specific arrangement: a principal house, a secondary suite inside it, and a detached garden suite. It is not permission to build a triplex. The limitation applies to lots over 0.4 ha and to lots outside the Urban Containment Boundary.
What is the FSR in Maple Ridge's residential zones?
There is none. RS-1 through RS-3, RS-1a to RS-1d, SRS, RT-2 and RUR publish no floor space ratio at all. Bulk is controlled by lot coverage, height and setbacks instead. FSR appears only in the RM apartment zones and the commercial, institutional and comprehensive development zones.
My Maple Ridge property is in the ALR. Do the Bill 44 rules still apply?
Not on top of the ALR. Sections 402.11.6(a) and 402.12.1(f) of the Zoning Bylaw both say the Agricultural Land Commission Act prevails on ALR land. The unit count is typically still 3, reached through the farm home plate rules, and the province caps the size of the residence separately.
My documents say my lot is zoned R-1. Is that still a Maple Ridge zone?
Not since 14 July 2026. Bylaw 8104-2026 deleted R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 and RT-1 and rezoned the affected lots to RUR. The deleted regulations still apply to a lot listed on Schedule I, to a rezoning given first reading before that date, and to a subdivision application accepted before it. Otherwise your lot is now governed by RUR.
What is RUR zoning in Maple Ridge?
RUR is Urban Infill Residential, the zone that carries Maple Ridge's small-scale multi-unit framework. Its minimum lot area is 450 m², it allows 60% lot coverage at 9.5 m of height, and its tier table runs from 3 units up to 6 depending on lot size, the Urban Containment Boundary, and proximity to a prescribed bus stop.
Next steps for your lot
- Run your address for the exact permitted unit count and buildable envelope.
- Maple Ridge Bill 44 map
- Maple Ridge zoning districts
- See what Coquitlam lots allow
- See what Surrey lots allow
Last reviewed September 2026.