{"title":"How many homes you can build on a lot in Chilliwack","question":"How many homes can I build on my lot in Chilliwack?","slug":"homes-per-lot","place":{"path":"ca/bc/chilliwack","name":"Chilliwack","region":{"code":"bc","name":"British Columbia"},"country":{"code":"ca","name":"Canada"}},"category":{"slug":"building-and-renovating","name":"Building, renovating and your property"},"owner":"municipal","owner_label":"Municipal","owner_body":{"name":"City of Chilliwack","url":"https://www.chilliwack.com"},"short_answer":"On most single-house and duplex lots inside Chilliwack's urban growth boundary that have city water and sewer, the Zoning Bylaw allows up to 4 homes (3 on lots of 280 square metres or less), without rezoning. Lots of 4,050 square metres or more, heritage-protected lots and Extension Areas are excluded.","aliases":["small-scale multi-unit housing chilliwack","SSMUH chilliwack","fourplex chilliwack","how many units on my lot chilliwack","secondary suite chilliwack","coach house garden suite chilliwack"],"cost":"A Development Permit and building permit are needed; fees are on the City's permit pages.","how_long":null,"where":[{"type":"phone","label":"Planning Department","value":"604-793-2906","note":"Ask whether your lot qualifies, or is in an Extension Area."},{"type":"online","label":"City web map (maps.chilliwack.com)","value":"http://maps.chilliwack.com/","note":"Turn on the Zoning, Urban Growth Boundary and Small-Scale Extension layers and click your lot."}],"documents":[],"forms":[{"title":"Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH)","url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/page.cfm?id=3287"},{"title":"Small-Scale Housing Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)","url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=8464"},{"title":"Development Permits","url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/page.cfm?id=2182"}],"related":[],"nearby":[],"topic":null,"facts":{"units_allowed":{"label":"Homes allowed on a house lot","value":"Up to 4 dwelling units on a lot over 280 square metres, or 3 units on a lot of 280 square metres or less, if the lot meets the criteria below. Any combination of secondary suites, coach houses or garden suites, a single detached house, a duplex, townhouses or an apartment. Below 3 units, the lot's current zone limits apply (for example, R1-A allows a house plus one suite, coach house or garden suite). The City also says every single-detached-zoned property may have 1 secondary suite.","short":"Up to 4 units (3 on lots 280 m2 or less)","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=6624","title":"Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 (PDF), City of Chilliwack","section":"s. 4.08(7)(a)-(c)","quotes":["3 or 4 DWELLING UNITS are considered intensive residential and are permitted on LOTS that meet the following criteria","3 units on LOTS less than or equal to 280m2 in area; or,","4 units on LOTS greater than 280m2 in area."]},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/page.cfm?id=3287","title":"Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH), City of Chilliwack","section":"intro","quotes":["1 secondary suite in all single detached zoned properties; and","Up to 4 units on all single detached or duplex zoned lots greater than 280m2 within the urban growth boundary."]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-05"}},"by_lot_size":{"label":"By lot size","value":"280 square metres is the line - 3 units on a lot of 280 m2 or less, 4 units on a lot over 280 m2. The rules apply only to lots under 4,050 square metres.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=6624","title":"Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 (PDF), City of Chilliwack","section":"s. 4.08(7)(a)(iv), (b)","quotes":["3 units on LOTS less than or equal to 280m2 in area; or,","4 units on LOTS greater than 280m2 in area.","Less than 4,050m2 in area;"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-05"}},"near_transit":{"label":"Near frequent transit","value":"No extra units for frequent transit. The City's rules give 3 or 4 units everywhere they apply; a lot inside the designated Transit-Oriented Area (around the Downtown Chilliwack Exchange) is excluded from this 3-4 unit rule, and residential parking is not required there.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=6624","title":"Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 (PDF), City of Chilliwack","section":"s. 4.08(7)(a)(vi)","quotes":["Not within a designated transit-oriented area; and,"]},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=7576","title":"Transit-Oriented Area Bylaw 2024, No. 5394 (PDF), City of Chilliwack","section":"ss. 1, 5","quotes":["A bylaw to designate the Downtown Chilliwack Exchange as a Transit-Oriented Area","Minimum OFF-STREET PARKING space requirements for RESIDENTIAL USE in the Zoning Bylaw do not apply on LOTS identified in Area A or Area B"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-05"}},"exemptions":{"label":"Where it does not apply","value":"The 3-4 unit rule applies only to lots that are all of the following - in the AL, AR, AS, RR, R1-A, R1-B, R1-C, R3 or M1-A zone (or the house and duplex areas of listed CD zones); inside the urban growth boundary; connected to community water and sewer; under 4,050 m2; not protected by a Heritage Designation Bylaw as of December 7, 2023; not in a designated Transit-Oriented Area; and not in an Extension Area. Extension Areas allow no small-scale housing until the City finishes infrastructure upgrades or December 31, 2030, whichever comes first. New secondary suites are not allowed below the flood construction level.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=6624","title":"Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 (PDF), City of Chilliwack","section":"s. 4.08(7)(a)","quotes":["Connected to COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM and COMMUNITY SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM;","Less than 4,050m2 in area;","Not protected by a Heritage Designation Bylaw as of December 7, 2023;","Where an extension has not been granted by the Ministry."]},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=8464","title":"Small-Scale Housing Frequently Asked Questions (PDF), City of Chilliwack (updated July 2025)","section":"Q5, Q19","quotes":["Small- scale housing is temporarily not permitted on properties","The City completes infrastructure upgrades for the area;","No. New secondary suites are not permitted below the flood"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-05"}},"parking":{"label":"Parking","value":"Resident parking per unit: 2 spaces for a single detached house, duplex or townhouse; 1.5 for an apartment unit; 0.75 for a small unit apartment; 1 for a secondary suite, coach house or garden suite. Visitor parking: 1 unenclosed space where two duplexes are on a lot. None required in the Transit-Oriented Area.","short":"2 per house, duplex or townhouse; 1 per suite","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=8464","title":"Small-Scale Housing Frequently Asked Questions (PDF), City of Chilliwack (updated July 2025)","section":"Q12","quotes":["Single-detached house, duplex, & townhouse 2","Secondary suite, coach house, garden suite 1"]},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=6624","title":"Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 (PDF), City of Chilliwack","section":"ss. 4.08(7)(e)(iv), 5.04","quotes":["One OFF-STREET PARKING SPACE is required for each ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT, regardless the number of bedrooms.","One unenclosed OFF-STREET PARKING SPACE per LOT is required for visitor parking where two DUPLEXES are on a LOT.","APARTMENT, BOARDING HOUSE 1.5 spaces per DU or SLEEPING UNIT"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-05"}},"permits":{"label":"Permits","value":"No rezoning is needed if the lot qualifies. A Development Permit for form and character (Development Permit Area 8, Residential) is required for all small-scale housing, and a building permit is needed to build. Extra technical development permits (aquifer, hillside, riparian) may apply, and a Development Variance Permit if you depart from zoning standards.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=8464","title":"Small-Scale Housing Frequently Asked Questions (PDF), City of Chilliwack (updated July 2025)","section":"Q17","quotes":["A Development Permit (DP) for form and character is required for all small-scale housing (DPA 8 - Residential)."]},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/page.cfm?id=2182","title":"Development Permits, City of Chilliwack","section":"Development Permit Areas","quotes":["Residential (DPA 8) applies to coach houses/ garden suites, Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH), townhouses, and apartments."]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-05"}},"bylaw":{"label":"Bylaw","value":"Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000, section 4.08(7), amended by Zoning Bylaw Amendment Bylaw 2024, No. 5395 (small-scale, multi-unit housing), adopted June 18, 2024.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=6624","title":"Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 (PDF), City of Chilliwack","section":"Amendment table","quotes":["Zoning Bylaw Amendment Bylaw 2024, No. 5395","Text Amendments – Small-scale, June 18, 2024"]},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/page.cfm?id=3287","title":"Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH), City of Chilliwack","section":"intro","quotes":["Council adopted the Zoning Bylaw updates to comply with this new legislation in June 2024."]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-05"}}},"facts_summary":{"total":7,"stated":7,"matched":7,"none":0,"unknown":0},"body_markdown":"## How it works\n\nUnder the Province's 2023-2024 small-scale multi-unit housing law, the City of Chilliwack's [Zoning Bylaw 5000](https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=6624) (section 4.08(7), added June 18, 2024) lets owners of single-house and duplex lots build 3 or 4 homes without rezoning. The units can be secondary suites, coach houses, garden suites, a house, a duplex, townhouses or a small apartment, in any mix.\n\n## Steps\n\n1. Check your lot on the City web map (maps.chilliwack.com): zone, urban growth boundary and Small-Scale Extension layers.\n2. Confirm with the Planning Department at 604-793-2906 if it is near an Extension Area, heritage-protected, or in the downtown Transit-Oriented Area.\n3. Apply for a Development Permit (form and character, Residential), then a building permit.\n\n## Good to know\n\n- The lot must be under 4,050 square metres, inside the urban growth boundary and on city water and sewer.\n- Parking: 2 spaces for each house, duplex or townhouse, 1 for each suite, coach house or garden suite, 1.5 for each apartment.\n- Lot coverage, setbacks and height follow your zone; the floor area ratio is capped at 0.75.\n- New secondary suites are not allowed below the flood construction level.\n- Existing covenants limiting density still apply.","sources":[{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/page.cfm?id=3287","title":"Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (SSMUH), City of Chilliwack","accessed":"2026-11-11"},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=6624","title":"Zoning Bylaw 2020, No. 5000 (PDF), City of Chilliwack","accessed":"2026-11-11"},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=8464","title":"Small-Scale Housing Frequently Asked Questions (PDF), City of Chilliwack (updated July 2025)","accessed":"2026-11-11"},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/attachments/attachView.cfm?attachID=7576","title":"Transit-Oriented Area Bylaw 2024, No. 5394 (PDF), City of Chilliwack","accessed":"2026-11-11"},{"url":"https://www.chilliwack.com/main/page.cfm?id=2182","title":"Development Permits, City of Chilliwack","accessed":"2026-11-11"}],"sources_read":"2026-11-11","review":{"status":"machine_checked","badge":"Checked against official text","label":"Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 7 of 7 facts was matched to the official text."},"urls":{"html":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/chilliwack/homes-per-lot/","markdown":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/chilliwack/homes-per-lot.md","json":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/chilliwack/homes-per-lot.json"}}