Almost 27,000 Richmond single-family and duplex lots were rezoned on June 24, 2024 (Bylaw 10573) to permit 3-6 small-scale multi-unit homes — which can include a detached rear building. Richmond's separate coach-house zones were repealed on June 8, 2026 (Bylaw 10760), so a standalone coach house is no longer a mapped pathway — the small-scale multi-unit route is what remains. ALR land, the Steveston deferral area (until December 30, 2030) and the five Canada Line transit-oriented areas are excluded from the rezone. Richmond publishes no open parcel-zoning feed, so results here are city-level rules — not a parcel read. Flood construction levels and soils engineering are real cost factors on top.
Rules verified 2026-08-06 · Pre-screening only, not a permit determination.
Each statement below was read from the document it links to, on the date beside it. Where the wording is precise, that is because the bylaw is.
The 50 zone codes we have mapped for Richmond, and the reading recorded for each. The list can include commercial, industrial, agricultural and site-specific codes, so its length is not necessarily a count of residential zones. This is a statement about the zone, not a verdict on any particular lot, and it is not the whole bylaw — a zone that is not listed here has not been read individually.
Likely the reading recorded for this zone is favourable. Conditional favourable in principle here; whether one fits is a lot-level question. Needs review this zone has to be read on its own, usually because it is site-specific. Unlikely the reading recorded for this zone is not favourable.
| Zone | Detached suite | Why |
|---|---|---|
| RSM/L | Likely | Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing, L sub-zone — subdivision minimum 550 m2 / 18.0 m width (s.8.19.9.3). Same unit-count, FAR, height and two-building rules as RSM/S. Not on ALR land; Steveston deferred to Dec 30, 2030. |
| RSM/M | Likely | Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing, M sub-zone — subdivision minimum 360 m2 / 12.0 m width (s.8.19.9.3). Same unit-count, FAR, height (10.0 m / 2.5 storeys) and two-building rules as RSM/S. Not on ALR land; Steveston deferred to Dec 30, 2030. |
| RSM/S | Likely | Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing, S sub-zone — defined by SUBDIVISION minimums (270 m2 lot / 9.0 m width, s.8.19.9.3), not by transit. Unit count runs off the actual lot: 3 units up to 280 m2, 4 units above 280 m2, 6 units above 281 m2 within 400 m of a prescribed frequent-service BUS stop with an affordable-housing contribution (s.8.19.5.1-5.2). Density is tiered FAR (0.6 on first 464.5 m2 + 0.3 on balance + flex space); max 2 buildings, one behind the other. Not available on ALR land; Steveston townsite deferred to Dec 30, 2030. |
| RSM/XL | Likely | Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing, XL sub-zone — subdivision minimum 828 m2 / 18.0 m width x 45.0 m depth (s.8.19.9.3). The 6-unit uplift and parking relief attach to the frequent-bus-stop test on the lot, not to this sub-zone. Same FAR, height and two-building rules as RSM/S. |
| ZS12 | Likely | Coach House - Broadmoor (site-specific zone ZS12) — coach houses expressly permitted. |
| ZS14 | Likely | Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing - South McLennan (site-specific zone ZS14) — SSMUH forms permitted. |
| ZS20 | Likely | Coach House - Burkeville (site-specific zone ZS20) — coach houses expressly permitted. |
| ZS32 | Likely | Compact Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (site-specific zone ZS32) — SSMUH forms permitted. |
| ZS5 | Likely | Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing and Shrine - Steveston (site-specific zone ZS5) — SSMUH forms permitted. |
| RCD | Conditional | Arterial Road Compact Two-Unit Dwellings zone — amended under Bylaw 10573; per-lot confirmation needed. |
| RD1 | Conditional | Two-Unit Dwellings zone — Richmond's 277 duplex-zoned lots kept their zoning but were amended under Bylaw 10573 to permit additional units; form and count confirmed per lot. |
| RD2 | Conditional | Two-Unit Dwellings zone — amended under Bylaw 10573 to permit additional units; form and count confirmed per lot. |
| RDA | Conditional | Arterial Road Two-Unit Dwellings zone — amended under Bylaw 10573; per-lot confirmation needed. |
| RCH | Needs review | Repealed. Richmond Bylaw 10760 (adopted 8 June 2026) replaced this zone's entire section with 'Intentionally blank' — verified live 2026-08-06 against the City's own section PDF. Any lot still carrying this code needs a hand check: the coach-house pathway it used to grant no longer exists. The surviving detached pathway in Richmond is the RSM two-building form (s.4.8A.9). (was section 8.3.) |
| RCH1 | Needs review | Repealed. Richmond Bylaw 10760 (adopted 8 June 2026) replaced this zone's entire section with 'Intentionally blank' — verified live 2026-08-06 against the City's own section PDF. Any lot still carrying this code needs a hand check: the coach-house pathway it used to grant no longer exists. The surviving detached pathway in Richmond is the RSM two-building form (s.4.8A.9). (was section 8.3.) |
| RCH2 | Needs review | Repealed. Richmond Bylaw 10760 (adopted 8 June 2026) replaced this zone's entire section with 'Intentionally blank' — verified live 2026-08-06 against the City's own section PDF. Any lot still carrying this code needs a hand check: the coach-house pathway it used to grant no longer exists. The surviving detached pathway in Richmond is the RSM two-building form (s.4.8A.9). (was section 8.15.) |
| RE1 | Needs review | Repealed. Richmond Bylaw 10760 (adopted 8 June 2026) replaced this zone's entire section with 'Intentionally blank' — verified live 2026-08-06 against the City's own section PDF. Any lot still carrying this code needs a hand check: the coach-house pathway it used to grant no longer exists. The surviving detached pathway in Richmond is the RSM two-building form (s.4.8A.9). (was section 8.14.) |
| RI1 | Needs review | Infill Residential zone — site-specific infill form; read against the specific site. |
| RI2 | Needs review | Infill Residential zone — site-specific infill form; read against the specific site. |
| RS1/F | Needs review | Large-lot single-detached sub-zone (min lot 828 m2, s.8.1.8.1) — NOT an ALR designation. The 400 m2 house-size cap (s.8.1.4.2A) applies only to RS1/F lots LOCATED IN the ALR; ALR status comes from the provincial ALR layer, not the zone code. |
| RS1/G | Needs review | Large-lot single-detached sub-zone (min lot 2,000 m2, s.8.1.8.1) — NOT an ALR designation. The 400 m2 cap applies only to the ALR subset; check ALR status separately. |
| AG1 | Unlikely | Agriculture zone — ALR farmland; housing governed by Agricultural Land Commission rules, not the municipal SSMUH/coach-house bylaw. |
| AG3 | Unlikely | Agriculture zone — ALR farmland; ALC rules govern. |
| AG4 | Unlikely | Agriculture zone — ALR farmland; ALC rules govern. |
| GC | Unlikely | Golf Course zone — not a residential lot. |
| RAH1 | Unlikely | High Density Low-Rise Apartment zone — already multi-family. |
| RAH2 | Unlikely | High Density Low-Rise Apartment zone — already multi-family. |
| RAL1 | Unlikely | Low Density Low-Rise Apartment zone — already multi-family. |
| RAL2 | Unlikely | Low Density Low-Rise Apartment zone — already multi-family. |
| RAM1 | Unlikely | Medium Density Low-Rise Apartment zone — already multi-family. |
| RAM2 | Unlikely | Medium Density Low-Rise Apartment zone — already multi-family. |
| RAM3 | Unlikely | Medium Density Low-Rise Apartment zone — already multi-family. |
| RCC | Unlikely | Residential Child Care zone — institutional residential use, not a standard single-family lot. |
| RTA | Unlikely | Arterial Road Three-Unit Dwellings zone — already zoned for three units; the single-family detached-suite path does not apply. |
| RTH1 | Unlikely | High Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTH2 | Unlikely | High Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTH3 | Unlikely | High Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTH4 | Unlikely | High Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTL1 | Unlikely | Low Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family; detached-suite rules for single-family lots do not apply. |
| RTL2 | Unlikely | Low Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTL3 | Unlikely | Low Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTL4 | Unlikely | Low Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTM1 | Unlikely | Medium Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTM2 | Unlikely | Medium Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTM3 | Unlikely | Medium Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTM4 | Unlikely | Medium Density Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTP1 | Unlikely | Parking Structure Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTP2 | Unlikely | Parking Structure Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTP3 | Unlikely | Parking Structure Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
| RTP4 | Unlikely | Parking Structure Townhouse zone — already multi-family. |
RSM zones (the current small-scale path) use tiered floor area: 0.6 on the first 464.5 m2 of lot plus 0.3 on the balance, plus 50 m2 of flex space and 80 m2 under s.8.19.5.4. A dwelling unit must be at least 25.0 m2 (s.8.19.7.5). Height is 2 1/2 storeys and 10.0 m for PRINCIPAL buildings, 7.5 m with a flat roof (s.8.19.8.1) — and in RSM the rear home is a principal building, not an accessory one, so that is the figure that governs it; detached garages and carports are capped separately at 5.0 m, and a detached accessory building of 10.0 m2 or less at 3.0 m. A lot may hold at most two buildings over 10.0 m2, arranged one behind the other rather than side by side (s.8.19.12.2). The RCH, RCH1 and RCH2 coach-house zones, which allowed 33.0-60.0 m2, were REPEALED by Bylaw 10760 on 8 June 2026 — do not quote those figures as current. RS1/RS2 base zones permit one principal dwelling plus a secondary suite only, with no detached-unit size to quote without a rezoning.
| Build | Planning estimate |
|---|---|
| One bedroom | $360,000 |
| Two bedroom | $490,000 |
| Utility connections, on top | $30,000 – $80,000 |
These are KYRAX's own mid-range planning figures, not Richmond's and not a quote. They are for working out whether the idea is worth pursuing. Real quotes for a completed build in this region have ranged from roughly $275,000 to $840,000 depending on size, site access, servicing and finish, and only a site visit narrows that.
| Suite | Indicative band |
|---|---|
| One bedroom | $1,676 / month |
| Two bedroom | $2,018 / month |
Indicative band for Richmond as of 2025-10, drawn from: CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2025 — Vancouver CMA Zone 19 (Richmond), private apartment average rents: 1BR $1,676 (reliability a) / 2BR $2,018 (a); rmr-vancouver-2025-en.xlsx No survey measures laneway suites specifically, so these describe comparable rentals rather than laneway homes as a class.
ALR status is a parcel attribute, not a zone code: check the provincial ALR layer. On ALR land the ALCA is paramount — one principal residence up to 500 m2, plus at most ONE additional residence of 90 m2 (parcels <=40 ha) or 186 m2 (larger), only where a single residence exists when construction starts and only if the local bylaw permits it; anything more needs an ALC Non-Adhering Residential Use application. ALR lots were expressly exempt from the June 2024 SSMUH rezone.
Richmond is low-lying and fully diked; the City registers flood-plain Building Elevation Restriction covenants on many properties and most residential construction needs geotechnical engineering (piles or pre-load) in the Fraser silt soils. Confirm the parcel-specific flood construction level with Building Approvals before costing a coach house or garden suite.
This page is the rule for the zone. Your lot is specific — its width, what is already built on it, and how it is serviced all change the answer. Richmond publishes no parcel-level feed, so the check answers from the city's rules for your address rather than from a read of your parcel — and says so, instead of implying a certainty it does not have.
Almost 27,000 Richmond single-family and duplex lots were rezoned on June 24, 2024 (Bylaw 10573) to permit 3-6 small-scale multi-unit homes — which can include a detached rear building. Richmond's separate coach-house zones were repealed on June 8, 2026 (Bylaw 10760), so a standalone coach house is no longer a mapped pathway — the small-scale multi-unit route is what remains. ALR land, the Steveston deferral area (until December 30, 2030) and the five Canada Line transit-oriented areas are excluded from the rezone. Richmond publishes no open parcel-zoning feed, so results here are city-level rules — not a parcel read. Flood construction levels and soils engineering are real cost factors on top.
RSM zones (the current small-scale path) use tiered floor area: 0.6 on the first 464.5 m2 of lot plus 0.3 on the balance, plus 50 m2 of flex space and 80 m2 under s.8.19.5.4. A dwelling unit must be at least 25.0 m2 (s.8.19.7.5). Height is 2 1/2 storeys and 10.0 m for PRINCIPAL buildings, 7.5 m with a flat roof (s.8.19.8.1) — and in RSM the rear home is a principal building, not an accessory one, so that is the figure that governs it; detached garages and carports are capped separately at 5.0 m, and a detached accessory building of 10.0 m2 or less at 3.0 m. A lot may hold at most two buildings over 10.0 m2, arranged one behind the other rather than side by side (s.8.19.12.2). The RCH, RCH1 and RCH2 coach-house zones, which allowed 33.0-60.0 m2, were REPEALED by Bylaw 10760 on 8 June 2026 — do not quote those figures as current. RS1/RS2 base zones permit one principal dwelling plus a secondary suite only, with no detached-unit size to quote without a rezoning.
As a planning estimate, around $490,000 for a two-bedroom build and $360,000 for a one-bedroom, plus utility connections. These are KYRAX's own mid-range figures for budgeting, not Richmond's and not a quote — real quotes in this region have ranged from roughly $275,000 to $840,000.
An indicative band for Richmond is about $1,676 a month for a one-bedroom and $2,018 for a two-bedroom, as of 2025-10. No survey measures laneway suites specifically, so that is drawn from comparable rentals: CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2025 — Vancouver CMA Zone 19 (Richmond), private apartment average rents: 1BR $1,676 (reliability a) / 2BR $2,018 (a); rmr-vancouver-2025-en.xlsx
The reading recorded as favourable covers RSM/L, RSM/M, RSM/S, RSM/XL, ZS12, ZS14, ZS20, ZS32, ZS5. Others are conditional, need individual review, or are not favourable; the table above lists all 50 zones that were read. Which zone your lot is in is what the address check resolves.
Richmond publishes no parcel-level zoning feed, so the check answers from the city's rules rather than from a read of your specific parcel — and says so on the card instead of implying a certainty it does not have. It resolves the parcel, reads the zone, and tests whether a suite of the size the bylaw permits fits behind the existing house once coverage and setbacks are taken out.
It reports what it could not establish as plainly as what it could. A favourable answer requires a real zoning read — the absence of an objection is not treated as a permission. Pre-screening only, not a permit determination.
BC Building Code 2024 · checked 2026-09-10
Outside the City of Vancouver, a laneway home in the Lower Mainland is designed to the BC Building Code 2024, which took effect on 8 March 2024 and is based on the National Building Code of Canada 2020. It applies to projects whose building permit was applied for after that date, so the edition that governs your build is fixed by when you apply, not by when you break ground.
The 2024 edition's earthquake design and adaptable dwelling requirements did not arrive with the rest of it. The 2018 rules stayed in force for permits applied for up to 9 March 2025, and from 10 March 2025 the 2024 requirements apply to all new projects. A set of drawings prepared under the older seismic rules is therefore only still usable if the permit application beat that date.
Projects already in stream when the edition changed can qualify for an extended exemption running to 8 March 2027. If a design has been sitting for a couple of years, which edition it was drawn to is worth confirming before it goes any further.
The provincial code takes Richmond's design value at the Richmond station, 5 m up: a 1-in-50 ground snow load of 1.5 kPa, plus 0.2 kPa for rain falling on that snow.
Across the stations the provincial table lists for these municipalities, the ground snow load runs from 1.3 kPa at Ladner to 2.9 kPa at Burnaby (Simon Fraser Univ.) — more than double. Coquitlam, which the table does not list, publishes its own values, and they reach 5.7 kPa between 401 and 425 m. That is why the same laneway design can need a heavier roof structure in one city than the next. Wind barely varies: at the stations the table lists, 1-in-50 hourly wind pressures run 0.44–0.47 kPa.
These are ground loads at a named weather station and elevation, not the load on a roof: the code derives roof loads from them, and a station is not a lot. The designer of record works out the value for the actual site.
Code editions, effective dates and station design values. The values for a specific building are for its designer of record. www2.gov.bc.ca · verified 2026-09-10 · www2.gov.bc.ca (PDF) · verified 2026-09-10 · coquitlam.ca · verified 2026-09-10
The documents the statements above were read from, with the date each was last checked.
The rules change at every city line. These pages are built from the same bylaw reads.
This page describes Richmond's rules as they read on 2026-08-06. Bylaws change. Nothing here is a permit determination or legal advice, and only the municipality can approve a build.