SSMUH and Bill 44: what BC builders need to know

Bill 44 (the Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023) required BC municipalities to rezone single-family and duplex lots for small-scale multi-unit housing (originally by June 30, 2024, extended to June 30, 2026 by Bill 25): at least 3 units on lots of 280 m² or less, 4 units on larger lots, 6 units on larger lots within 400 m of frequent transit, and a secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on single-family lots province-wide. For a builder it means the zoning is usually no longer the obstacle; the site standards, the Building Code between units, servicing, parking geometry, warranty on every unit and the question of strata versus rental are.

What the province required

Exemptions include lots over 4,050 m², lots not connected to municipal water and sewer, land in the Agricultural Land Reserve, designated heritage property, areas subject to hazards, and some other categories. Municipalities could apply for extensions, and the province published a policy manual and site standards to guide bylaws. The legislation and manual are on the province’s SSMUH pages. Bill 44 also ended public hearings for rezonings consistent with the official community plan, which shortens the approval path for residential projects generally.

Parking

On lots that qualify for the six-unit minimum near frequent transit, the municipality cannot require off-street residential parking. For other SSMUH lots the province recommended low or no minimums, but each municipality sets its own. On a 10 m (33 ft) lot the parking requirement is often what decides whether four units fit, because a garage per unit eats the ground floor. Check the bylaw’s parking table and the driveway and access rules before you draw anything.

The local bylaw is where the constraints live

The province set the minimum unit counts. Everything else came from the municipality’s bylaw update: height (the provincial manual suggested three storeys), lot coverage, setbacks, floor area ratio, tree protection, landscaping and whether the units can be stratified. Two neighbouring municipalities can both allow four units and produce very different buildings. The design constraints that trip builders most:

• Lot coverage and FAR that make four units possible on paper but only as very small units.
• Side-yard setbacks on narrow lots that force a stacked rather than side-by-side plan, which changes the code analysis.
• Rear-lot units that need a fire access route, a path for a stretcher and their own address and utility meters.
• Tree bylaws that protect the tree exactly where the fourth unit was going.
• Stormwater requirements for infill that did not apply to the single house you replaced.

The Building Code between units

A three- or four-unit building is normally a Part 9 building: three storeys or less, 600 m² or less in building area, residential. Part 9 does not mean simple. Each dwelling unit is separated from the others by fire separations with the required fire-resistance rating and the sound rating the 2024 code requires between dwelling units. Every unit needs its own exit arrangement; stacked units sharing a stair need the stair treated as an exit. Smoke alarms are per unit and interconnected within the unit; a building with enough units or a shared corridor may need a fire alarm system. Spatial separation (limiting distance to the property line and to the other units) governs the windows on each face, and rear units often lose the windows they were designed with. Some municipalities require sprinklers in all new multi-unit buildings by bylaw. Secondary suites, now permitted in more building types under BCBC 2024, follow the same logic. See BCBC 2024 Part 9 changes.

A six-unit building near transit can still be Part 9 if it stays within the limits. Once it has more than three storeys, or exceeds the building area, or the design adds non-residential space, it becomes Part 3 and the whole approach changes: engineered fire and life safety, a registered professional for each discipline, and a different cost base.

Energy, carbon and the 26°C room

Each unit is a dwelling unit for the Energy Step Code and Zero Carbon Step Code. Step 3 is the provincial minimum; the municipal bylaw may require Step 4 or EL-3/EL-4, and some municipalities set different levels for multi-unit buildings than for single houses. Each unit needs a living space designed not to exceed 26°C, and multi-unit heat pump layouts on a small lot take planning: outdoor unit placement, noise bylaws at the property line, electrical service for four heat pumps and four ranges. See Step Code and Zero Carbon for builders.

Licensing and warranty

Every new dwelling unit built for sale needs home warranty insurance (2-5-10) and a licensed residential builder. The owner-builder route is for one home for the owner’s own use; it does not cover a fourplex. Each unit is enrolled separately with the warranty provider, and the provider will want to see the plan for how the units are held: strata lots sold separately, a single owner renting all units, or a mix. Strata subdivision brings its own costs, a strata plan, a depreciation report regime and the Builders Lien Act rule that each strata lot is complete no later than first occupancy, so lien and holdback clocks run lot by lot. See the holdback guide.

Servicing and charges

Four units on a lot that had one water lateral and one sewer connection usually means new services, sometimes a main upgrade the municipality expects you to fund. Development cost charges and, under Bill 46, amenity cost charges are levied per unit, and school site acquisition charges apply. Price them before you buy the lot; on a four-unit infill they are a significant line, and on a six-unit lot near transit they can be the difference between a project and a pass.

A pre-purchase checklist

1. Confirm the lot’s SSMUH category in the current zoning bylaw: 3, 4 or 6 units, and any exemption.
2. Pull height, coverage, FAR, setbacks and parking from the bylaw and test-fit the units.
3. Check tree protection, flood or hazard mapping and heritage status.
4. Confirm services: water, sewer, storm capacity and the cost of new laterals or upgrades.
5. Decide the tenure: strata or rental. It changes the warranty, financing and lien planning.
6. Run the Part 9 limits and the Step Code and EL level for the building type.
7. Price DCCs, ACCs and school site charges per unit.

The 2-hour, 2-point course in the CPD Pass covers these with Part 9 examples under relevant enactments, with legal issues as a secondary competency. Its refresh trigger is any provincial or local bylaw change, so it is re-issued as municipalities revise their SSMUH standards. Course page: Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing: Building Under Bill 44.