Cities use different names for a small dwelling at the rear of a lot: a laneway house in Vancouver, a coach house in North and West Vancouver, a laneway or garden suite in Toronto, a backyard suite in Calgary, and backyard housing in Edmonton. MyLotFit can sketch three typical footprints on your property outline. That sketch is not a survey, title search, or development permit.
Numbers below are a reading of each municipality’s published zoning as of September 2026. Bylaws change. Confirm with the city or district before you design or apply.
On a Vancouver, North Vancouver, or West Vancouver address, turn on Possible laneway lots (it starts off). When you turn it on, a popup explains the colours. Hide dismisses it for this session. You can open it again with the ? next to that checkbox. Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton do not get that tint yet — you can still drop the same footprints on the lot outline.
We do not read zoning district, single-detached vs duplex, heritage, owner occupancy, or whether a lane house is already there. Treat green as “the rectangle might sit here,” not “you can build this.”
Zoning and Development By-law Section 11.3.8 (April 2025 consolidation).
Allowed only with a single detached house (with or without a secondary suite), and only on a site with vehicular access from the rear — typically a lane.
| Floor area | The lesser of 0.25 × site area (0.25 FSR) or 186 m² (~2,002 sq ft). |
|---|---|
| Height | 8.5 m and 2 storeys. No deck or roof deck above the uppermost level. |
| Site coverage | With a laneway house, maximum coverage is 50% of the site. |
| Minimum site width | 9.8 m. The Director of Planning may go down to 7.3 m. |
| Setbacks | 4.9 m from the main house, 0.9 m from the rear (lane) line, 1.2 m from each side. |
Zoning Bylaw 6700, accessory coach house (s.509 / s.507(13)) and the City’s coach-house handout.
On lots zoned for one-unit residential (such as RS-1 / RS-2), a coach house is allowed if the front lot line is at least 10 m (~32.8 ft). It is a detached, non-stratified accessory unit at the rear. The owner is expected to live on the property. A development permit is required.
| Coach-house floor area | Up to 92.9 m² (1,000 sq ft). Total gross floor area on the lot (house + coach house) is capped at 0.5 × lot area. |
|---|---|
| Coverage | House + coach house not more than 40% of the lot. Principal building not more than 30%. |
| Height | 6.7 m (~22 ft) from average grade on the rear lot line. |
| Rear (lane) setback | A build-to zone: 1.22–3.05 m from the rear lot line (part of the building must sit in that band). |
| Sides / house gap | 1.22 m from the interior side line. Distance to the principal house is at least 3.05 m, and more on wider lots (up to 6.09 m when the rear line is over 15.7 m). |
| Parking / lane | If the lot abuts a lane, vehicle access is from the lane. Two parking stalls; only one may be enclosed. |
The City has also been moving one-unit areas toward a Ground Oriented Zone (Bill 25 / SSMUH). That can allow more units than a single coach house. Check current zoning on the property, not only this table.
Zoning Bylaw 3210 Table 502.5, and the new R1 / R2 detached residential zones adopted 20 July 2026 (Bylaws 8787 and 8799).
Most urban single-family lots inside the Urban Containment Boundary are now R2 and may have a house, a secondary suite, and a coach house. About 219 rural lots outside the UCB are R1 and do not get a coach house. MyLotFit cannot see R1 vs R2 from the parcel map.
| Coach-house size | Older Table 502.5 cap was 90 m² (968 sq ft). The new R2 zone raises that to 130.1 m² (1,400 sq ft) and adds about 46.5 m² of lot floor area for a coach house. Confirm which cap applies to the property. |
|---|---|
| Setbacks | Rear 1.2 m if the parcel abuts a lane, otherwise 3.1 m. Sides 1.2 m. Separation from the principal house 6.1 m (20 ft). |
| Access | From the lane if there is an open lane; from the lower-classification street on a corner; otherwise from the fronting street. |
| Siting | To the rear of the main house. Two storeys are permitted. |
Zoning Bylaw 4662, Section 130.051 (detached secondary suites / coach houses).
One detached secondary suite per lot, not on a duplex lot. The registered owner must live on the lot or name a property manager in North or West Vancouver. Two-storey coach houses (and any that need a variance) usually need a development permit under the coach-house guidelines.
| Floor area | Building containing the suite no greater than 148.6 m², including vehicle storage (max 20.5 m² of that for parking inside the building). |
|---|---|
| Height / storeys | 4.57 m if one storey, 6.40 m if two storeys. Up to 2 storeys plus basement. Upper storey limited to 60% of the main floor (pitched roof) or 50% (other roofs). |
| From the house | 4.9 m minimum from the principal building. 6.0 m² of exclusive outdoor space for the suite. |
| Rear setback | 1.2 m for one storey. For two storeys, the greater of 1.52 m or 10% of site width (max 3.0 m) — but if the rear line is an open lane, 1.2 m and the front door must face the lane, set back at least 1.8 m. |
| Lane | Not required. If there is an open lane, driveway access is expected from the lane. |
West Vancouver is separately updating zoning for Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing (Bill 25). As of mid-September 2026 those amendments were still before Council. A coach house may become one of several unit options on a lot — check the District before you assume the 130.051 numbers still govern.
Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 150.8 (laneway suites) and 150.7 (garden suites). Council has also amended those chapters (including 2025 laneway-suite bills). Confirm the current chapter.
A lot may have one ancillary building with living space: either a laneway suite or a garden suite, not both. A laneway suite needs a rear or side lot line abutting a lane for at least 3.5 m (or 3.5 m combined along those lines). Garden suites are the rear-yard option on lots that do not meet that lane test, in the R, RD, RS, RT, and RM zones.
| Laneway — size | Maximum building length 10.0 m, width 8.0 m. Interior floor area must be less than the house’s gross floor area. Height is 4.0 m if the suite is 5.0–7.5 m from the house, and 6.3 m if it is 7.5 m or more away (two storeys subject to that). |
|---|---|
| Laneway — setbacks | Rear 1.0 m (or 0 m if that wall has no openings and does not abut a street or lane). Separation from the house 5.0 m if height is 4.0 m or less, 7.5 m if taller. |
| Garden — setbacks | Rear 1.5 m (or the greater of 1.5 m and half the suite height on lots deeper than 45 m). Separation from the house 5.0 m if height is 4.0 m or less, 7.5 m if taller. |
| Garden — height | 4.0 m if 5.0–7.5 m from the house; 6.0 m if 7.5 m or more away (6.3 m in the Beach-area exception). Interior floor area must be less than the house. |
The planner can still place a 14 × 32, 18 × 36, or 22 × 40 ft footprint. It does not read your zone, the 3.5 m lane test, or soft-landscaping percentages. A building permit is required.
Land Use Bylaw 1P2007, s.153.1 (defined use) and s.352 (backyard suite rules).
A backyard suite is a detached dwelling behind the front façade of the main house. It is typically discretionary in low-density districts (for example R-C1 / contextual one-dwelling and R-2). It needs at least one motor-vehicle parking stall.
| Floor area | Maximum 75.0 m² (the Development Authority may relax that by up to 10%). |
|---|---|
| Setbacks | Rear 1.5 m for the suite (0.6 m for a private-garage portion). Side 1.2 m unless the district says otherwise. Separation from the main house 5.0 m (can drop to 1.5 m where the amenity-space rule in s.352 applies). |
| Height | 5.0 m at a property line shared with a low-density residential parcel, 3.0 m at a rear line shared with such a parcel, rising at 45° to a maximum of 7.5 m. |
| Parcel width (typical districts) | 9.0 m for a parcel with a backyard suite, or 7.5 m on a corner or laned parcel that provides 3.0 or more parking stalls. R-C1 also publishes a 22.0 m minimum depth and 233.0 m² minimum area; R-2 publishes 330.0 m² for a single detached parcel. Confirm the district on the parcel. |
The planner does not read your land-use district, parking, or whether the use is permitted or discretionary. Drop a typical footprint, then confirm with Calgary.
Zoning Bylaw (current), Section 6.10 Backyard Housing and Section 2.10 RS — Small Scale Residential.
Edmonton now calls a garden suite backyard housing. It must follow 6.10 in addition to the underlying zone. In RS, backyard housing is listed with the zone’s site table; we do not read the zone from the parcel map.
| Height | Maximum 6.8 m, or 4.3 m where the rear lot line abuts a residential site whose maximum height is 12.0 m or less. |
|---|---|
| Coverage and upper floor | Maximum site coverage 20%. Maximum second-storey floor area 60.0 m² per dwelling (70.0 m² if the suite meets Inclusive Design, Section 5.50). |
| Setbacks | Minimum 1.2 m, or 0.6 m from a rear line abutting an alley where there is no garage door facing the alley. At least 3.0 m from other principal buildings on the same site. |
| RS site table (for context) | RS publishes 75.0 m² minimum site area per dwelling, 30.0 m depth, and 7.5 m width. That is the zone table, not a promise that every RS lot can take backyard housing. |
Older “garden suite” numbers (former s.87) do not apply to new applications under the current bylaw. Confirm the zone and 6.10 on the property.
Three typical footprints, each with a 2 ft eave/path around the building: compact 14 × 32 ft (~448 sq ft per floor), typical 18 × 36 ft (~648 sq ft per floor), and large 22 × 40 ft (~880 sq ft per floor). Auto-place prefers the largest open yard — usually the rear. Drag and rotate if the sketch lands on a deck or the wrong side.
The planner uses a uniform 8 ft keep-back from the dashed lot line and keeps the footprint clear of buildings on the lot. That is a sketch envelope, not a full code review of eaves, parking, energy step code, or occupancy.
A parking pad (9 × 18 ft) and short driveways are separate Place items. They do not satisfy a parking by-law on their own.