A fee-simple subdivision (or, in Ontario, a consent to sever) splits one titled lot into two or more new lots, each with its own property line. That is different from a laneway house, garden suite, or backyard suite (same lot, extra dwelling) and different from a strata (shared title). MyLotFit can screen lot size from public lot lines where we have a published civic table. It cannot approve a split.
Numbers below are a reading of published municipal tables as of September 2026. Bylaws and maps change. Confirm the zone, subdivision category, and servicing with the municipality before you hire a surveyor or apply.
In British Columbia, the municipal Approving Officer decides a conventional subdivision under the Land Title Act and the Local Government Act. Zoning says how small a new lot may be. The subdivision bylaw and engineering standards say how it must be served (water, sewer, storm, road, lane). A size screen that “passes” is only the first filter.
A coach house or laneway house does not create a second lot. If you want a second title you can sell, you are in this process — not the laneway rules.
Subdivision By-law No. 5208, Schedule A — Standards for Minimum Parcel Size and Configuration. Letter categories for former RS (now often R1-1) blocks are also mapped as subdivision category areas.
Vancouver does not use one city-wide minimum. The block category on Schedule A sets width and area for each new parcel. Category A is the smallest common RS pattern; G is the largest.
| Category A | 9.144 m (30 ft) width · 278.7 m² (3,000 sq ft). Two lots need about 18.3 m and 557 m². |
|---|---|
| A1 | 9.144 m · 334.5 m² (3,600 sq ft). Two lots: 18.3 m and 669 m². |
| B / B1 / B2 | 12.192 m (40 ft) width. Area 334.5 / 445.9 / 557.4 m² (3,600 / 4,800 / 6,000 sq ft). |
| C | 15.240 m (50 ft) · 464.5 m² (5,000 sq ft). |
| D | 18.288 m (60 ft) · 501.7 m² (5,400 sq ft). |
| E / F / G | 75 / 100 / 150 ft width and 6,750 / 12,000 / 18,000 sq ft. Large-lot and estate blocks. |
A typical 33 × 120 ft Vancouver lot (~366 m²) is already one A1 lot. It does not split on its own. A double-width lot on an A or A1 block can. MyLotFit uses the City’s category map when it lists Vancouver lots.
Zoning Bylaw 6700, section 506 — minimum lot area and front lot line for one-unit residential.
RS-1 (typical): 557.4 m² (6,000 sq ft) and 10 m frontage per new lot. A two-lot split needs about 1,115 m² and 20 m of frontage. RS-2 is 464.5 m² and 7.5 m; RS-3 is 334.4 m². Where 50% of the block already has fronts of 12.2 m or less, RS-1 can drop toward 334.4 m². MyLotFit’s list uses the published RS-1 floor because we cannot see the zone.
Zoning Bylaw 3210 as amended by Bylaw 8799 (R1 / R2, adopted 20 July 2026), subdivision tables.
Urban lots inside the Urban Containment Boundary are generally R2: 660 m², 18 m width, 34 m depth per new lot. Two lots need 1,320 m² and either 36 m of frontage or 68 m of depth. A map modifier R2 (S1) drops that to 335 m² / 10 m / 34 m (old small-lot infill / RS5). R2 (S2) is 1,100 m² / 24 m; R1 and R2 (S3) are about one acre. MyLotFit does not read the S modifier, so the public list only treats a District lot as a split if it meets R2 base.
Zoning Bylaw 4662, Section 200 — single-family dwelling zones.
Each RS zone has its own subdivision minimum. Common published floors:
| RS3 (typical older lots) | 975 m² and 18.3 m width (21.7 m flanking). Two lots: about 1,950 m² and 36.6 m. |
|---|---|
| RS2 | 1,625 m², 18.3 m width, 29.7 m depth. |
| RS4 / RS5 | 731 m² / 17.1 m, and 488 m² / 13.3 m — smaller than RS3. |
| RS1 | 8,094 m² and 61 m width (about two acres). |
MyLotFit’s list uses RS3 so we do not mark an RS2 lot as yes. A lot that only works in RS4 or RS5 will not appear.
Metro Vancouver does not use one regional lot-size table. Each city writes its own zone schedule. These are published examples — not a complete inventory, and not what MyLotFit applies unless we say so on the list page.
Burnaby Zoning Bylaw — former R2 Residential District; newer R1 Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing District.
The older R2 district asked for 668.88 m² (7,200 sq ft) and 18.28 m (60 ft) per lot; R2a was 1,000 m² and 25.5 m. Burnaby has since introduced an R1 SSMUH district with different (often smaller) lot widths for rowhouse and multi-unit lots. Check the current zone on the property, not only R2.
Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, Section 8.1 — RS1 / RS2 single detached, by sub-zone letter.
Richmond letters the single-family pattern. Corner lots usually need 2 m extra width.
| RS1/A | 9.0 m width · 24.0 m depth · 270 m² |
|---|---|
| RS1/B · C · J | 12.0–13.5 m width · 24.0 m depth · 360 m² |
| RS1/E · H | 16.5–18.0 m width · 24.0 m depth · 550 m² |
| RS1/F | 18.0 m · 45.0 m depth · 828 m² |
| RS1/G | 20.0 m · 45.0 m depth · 2,000 m² |
These cities set minimum lot area and width in each zone (for example Surrey’s older RF / RF-12 family, Coquitlam RS zones, New Westminster NR / RS). Coquitlam also publishes unserviced floors (0.40 ha without sewer; 1.25 ha without water and sewer) and a separate 4,050 m² floor in RS-1. We do not invent a single number for those cities, and they are not on the MyLotFit subdivisible list yet.
Planning Act s.53 (consent) and s.51 (plan of subdivision). Lot frontage and lot area are on the zone in
Zoning By-law 569-2013 (for example an RD lot tagged f15.0; a550).
Splitting one house lot is usually a consent to sever at the Committee of Adjustment, not a
draft plan of subdivision. The new lots must meet the zone’s frontage and area, or you need a minor variance
as well. In RD, if the zone label has no f value the published default frontage is
12.0 m; if it has no a value the default area is frontage × 30 m. Staff and the
Toronto Local Appeal Body also test the split against Planning Act s.51(24) — including whether the new
dimensions fit the neighbourhood pattern. There is no city-wide two-lot floor. We do not
invent one, and Toronto is not on the MyLotFit subdivisible list.
Land Use Bylaw 1P2007 — parcel width, depth, and area are set in each residential district.
A new titled parcel has to meet the district you are in. Published examples: contextual one-dwelling (R-C1) uses 7.5 m width for a single detached dwelling, 22.0 m depth, and 233.0 m² area; a backyard suite on that district usually needs 9.0 m width. R-2 publishes 330.0 m² for a single detached parcel. Those numbers are not a Calgary-wide “this lot splits in two” table. The City’s subdivision authority still checks roads, servicing, and the Municipal Government Act. Calgary is not on the MyLotFit subdivisible list.
Zoning Bylaw Section 2.10 RS — Small Scale Residential, Table 4.1.
In RS, the published site table is 75.0 m² per dwelling, 30.0 m depth, and 7.5 m width (narrower lot widths apply to attached dwellings on separate lots). That is what each new lot would have to meet if you split an RS site into two titled lots for detached houses. Other zones (RSF and the rest) have their own tables. We do not invent a city-wide two-lot floor, and Edmonton is not on the MyLotFit subdivisible list.
Open an address in the planner and click the lot. In Metro Vancouver, the green Could you subdivide? box says whether this lot meets a published civic size table on its own. It does not check buying the neighbour. Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton do not get that civic size box — we do not have a city-wide floor to score against.
The subdividable lots page is a scan of ParcelMap BC against the published floors above for Vancouver (Schedule A category), the City of North Vancouver (RS-1), the District of North Vancouver (R2 base), and West Vancouver (RS3). It is a sample, not every lot in the region.
We do not check:
Treat a “yes” as “the outline is large enough on this civic size table.” Hire a B.C. land surveyor and ask the municipality before you buy, assemble, or apply.