Zoning Law Changes Good News for Homeowners Seeking Renovations
ZONING LAW CHANGES OPEN UP POSSIBILITIES
With Vancouver’s red-hot housing market and density-driven development strategy, expanding or renovating your home is a smart way of increasing the value of your investment. However, city zoning regulations have made this a challenging proposition. After nearly two years of public consultation and amendments, Vancouver City Council passed a number of measures intended to allow homeowners to have easier access to renovations, expansions and infills (secondary buildings).
FOR ALL HOMEOWNERS – WALL THICKNESS EXCLUSION
What Changed? In order to encourage homeowners to install energy efficient insulation, this bylaw change will allow 2% of the floor space of buildings of three stories or less to be excluded from floor space limits (FSR) if the majority of the exterior walls contain 175mm (6.9 inches) of thermal insulation.
What does it Mean? If your home contains 175mm of insulation in its outer walls (building envelope), you will be allowed to build more on your property. For the average 2500 square foot home, this will give you an additional 50 square feet of space. This is enough to add a large walk-in closet, storage room, dormer, or small office. Better yet, at Vancouver’s average home prices approaching $1000 per square foot, you can add another $50,000 to the value of your home for resale.
ZONING CHANGES FOR GRANDVIEW – WOODLANDS AND MOUNT PLEASANT
What Changed? Character Retention Benefits (See below) apply to RT zones in Grandview/Woodlands and Mount Pleasant, laneway homes are now allowed.
What does it Mean? If you own a character home in Grandview/Woodlands or or Mount Pleasant, you can take advantage of the retention benefits listed below. You can also now build laneway homes in this area, as they were previously restricted to RS single-family zones.
FOR ALL HOMEOWNERS – WALL THICKNESS EXCLUSION
What Changed? In order to encourage homeowners to install energy efficient insulation, this bylaw change will allow 2% of the floor space of buildings of three stories or less to be excluded from floor space limits (FSR) if the majority of the exterior walls contain 175mm (6.9 inches) of thermal insulation.
What does it Mean? If your home contains 175mm of insulation in its outer walls (building envelope), you will be allowed to build more on your property. For the average 2500 square foot home, this will give you an additional 50 square feet of space. This is enough to add a large walk-in closet, storage room, dormer, or small office. Better yet, at Vancouver’s average home prices approaching $1000 per square foot, you can add another $50,000 to the value of your home for resale.
CHARACTER HOME RETENTION – VARIOUS CHANGES
City Informational Package (pdf)
What Changed? A complete overhaul of zoning laws in RT zones in Grandview-Woodlands/Mount Pleasant and RS zoning citywide that can be applied to Character Homes.
What does it Mean? If your home qualifies as a character home (you can find out by taking our questionnaire or contacting us), a wealth of new development options have become available:
INCREASED FLOOR SPACE RATIO:
If you wish to make additions to your home, you are limited in how much you were allowed to build compared to the size of the property your building sits on. This is called a “Floor Space Ratio” or FSR. In most residential zoning areas in Vancouver intended for single family homes, the FSR allowed is 0.70 for existing buildings (and even less if you’re building a new one), meaning that the total area of your building interior’s floor space can be up to 70% of the total area of your lot. The changes to the rules now allow qualifying buildings to upgrade to 0.75 FSR, or up to 198 square feet of new space on your average 33 x 120 lot! This is enough to add a new master bedroom or living room! With some smart use of floor space exclusions in the city bylaws to increase the allowed square footage further, a clever designer can use this to make an entirely new secondary suite for rental or family usage!
INFILL OPTIONS:
Like the increasingly popular laneway homes, an infill is a secondary building on your property. It’s considered an Infill instead of a laneway home if it’s larger than 926 square feet in total floor space. With the Character Home Retention incentives, your allowable FSR increases to 0.83 if you have a secondary building that qualifies as an infill on the property. That means on an average 33 x 120 lot, you can have an additional 316 square feet to build on if you add this secondary building. Beyond floor space allowances, infills come with benefits such as strata titling, making them a prime investment that can be used to generate income, increase your property value, or sell at a profit!
MULTIPLE CONVERSION DWELLINGS
The beautiful late 19th century rooming houses in Mount Pleasant that have been converted into apartment buildings are examples of Multiple Conversion Dwellings. Before January’s changes to the zoning laws, these were only allowed on very large lots in single family (RS) zones, with the average home allowed to have a small secondary suite for rental only. The new laws add an option to allow you to convert buildings into MCDs based upon the total lot size.
- 3 units total allowed on lots 33 feet wide
- 4 units total allowed on lots 50 feet wide
- 6 units total allowed on lots 66 feet wide
These units can be strata titled and sold as separate properties (provided they meet building code and safety regulations), or rented out as separate legal units.
STRATA TITLING EXPANSION
Strata titling (conversion to a legal duplex, triplex or fourplex) was previously heavily restricted in single-family zoning areas. The approved changes have expanded the types of properties allowed to be stratified and sold separately. These include Infills and multiple dwellings. Note that a secondary building must be over 926 square feet in size, or it will be considered a laneway home and cannot be sold separately. Should your expansions meet the building code standards required, you will be allowed to sell these additions as separate properties. This can be a massive investment opportunity during the current Vancouver seller’s market.
FINAL THOUGHTS
These new regulatory changes open up a wealth of possibilities to Vancouver homeowners to undertake larger renovations or remodeling projects, add laneways or infills, or start a small microcondo development on the site of even a modest single family home. Character Home owners particularly may wish to consider their new options for what they can do with their properties. If you have an idea in mind, or want more information on how to take advantage of these changes, feel free to contact us on our website, or give us a call at 604-803-8436