Home Builder SEO • Vancouver, BC • Canada
Be the builder Vancouver lot owners find when they ask what the R1-1 zone allows on their lot
On October 17, 2023, the City of Vancouver put one zone, R1-1 Residential Inclusive, in the place of nine RS zones, and a lot that once held one house may now hold a multiplex of up to 6 homes, or up to 8 when all of them are rental. The City says the zone covers "approximately 65,000 lots". Each of those lots has an owner with a question: what may I build, and who builds it? The builder whose website answers with the City's own figures is the builder that owner finds. We have a record of this in Vancouver itself: VanPlex, a multiplex builder and developer site where our team tests its methods first, holds the featured snippet on Google for "multiplex developer vancouver".
The figures a Vancouver lot owner asks about are in the R1-1 District Schedule, dated June 2026. A multiplex of 3 or 4 homes needs a lot of at least 306 square metres with a frontage of at least 10.0 metres; 5 homes need 464 square metres and 13.4 metres; 6 to 8 homes need 557 square metres and 15.1 metres. The maximum floor space ratio is 1.00, which means the floor area may equal the lot area, and the height limit is 11.5 metres and 3 storeys. The site must give vehicle access from the rear and must lie outside a designated flood plain. The Province sets the minimum behind these rules: under its small-scale multi-unit housing law, a lot larger than 280 square metres in a single-family or duplex zone must be allowed at least 4 homes, and 6 near frequent bus service.
The demand is recorded. In a memo dated May 29, 2025, the City counted "approximately 370 applications" for multiplexes accepted up to March 31, 2025, representing "approximately 1,500 dwelling units"; 165 of those projects had 4 homes and 259 used a courtyard layout. The City's open data lists 595 building permits for new buildings described as multiplex, issued between June 4, 2024 and September 28, 2026: 60 in 2024, 328 in 2025 and 207 in 2026 so far. Time is the second question. For new low-density housing, the median from the creation of a permit number to the issue of the permit was 154 days in 2026 up to September 28, computed from the same open data. A builder who publishes its own permit dates beside these figures gives a lot owner a fact that no competitor can copy.
Two facts shape what a Vancouver builder should publish. First, the law makes the licence part of the answer: under the Homeowner Protection Act, "A person must not carry on the business of a residential builder unless licensed", and a new home must carry home warranty insurance of at least 2 years for materials and labour, 5 years for the building envelope and 10 years for structure. A site that states the licence and the warranty gives a lot owner two things to check. Second, the rules are under review: the City reports that staff are reviewing the multiplex rules and "anticipate reporting back to Council in early 2027". A page that shows the date it was last checked stays correct through that review.
Licheo does three things for a Vancouver builder, as one service: we build the website or fix the one you have, we make it findable on Google and citable by AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini, and we shape each page so that a visit becomes an enquiry. For Vancouver that means a page that states what R1-1 allows by lot size, a page for lot owners, a page for each finished project, and your licence and warranty stated plainly. Rain City Properties, a Vancouver real estate site, went from page 10 of Google to the number 1 organic result for "sell multiplex land" in 30 days with this work. One flat monthly fee, month to month. Contact us for pricing.
A multiplex in Vancouver's R1-1 zone can have up to 6 homes, or up to 8 when every home is secured as rental, according to the R1-1 District Schedule dated June 2026. The City defines a multiplex as 3 to 8 dwelling units across one or more buildings on a single site, each with its own direct exterior entrance. The zone has been in effect since October 17, 2023 in all areas previously zoned RS.
A lot in Vancouver's R1-1 zone must have at least 306 square metres and 10.0 metres of frontage for a multiplex of 3 or 4 homes, 464 square metres and 13.4 metres for 5 homes, and 557 square metres and 15.1 metres for 6 to 8 homes. These figures come from the R1-1 District Schedule dated June 2026. The site must also give vehicle access from the rear and lie outside a designated flood plain.
British Columbia's small-scale multi-unit housing law requires local governments to permit at least 3 homes on single-family or duplex lots of 280 square metres or smaller, at least 4 on larger lots, and 6 on larger lots near frequent bus service, in municipalities of more than 5,000 people. The first deadline for bylaws was June 30, 2024. A 2025 amendment, Bill 25, widened which zones are covered and set a second deadline of June 30, 2026.
The City of Vancouver's open data lists 595 building permits for new buildings described as multiplex, issued between June 4, 2024 and September 28, 2026: 60 in 2024, 328 in 2025 and 207 in 2026 so far. A project with a front and a rear building can hold two permits, so the number of projects is lower. In a memo of May 29, 2025, the City counted "approximately 370 applications" accepted up to March 31, 2025.
For new low-density housing in Vancouver, the median time from the creation of a permit number to the issue of the building permit was 154 days in 2026 up to September 28, against 160 days in 2025 and 203 days in 2024, computed from the City's open data. Council's target for detached homes is three weeks. The City reported a median of 21 weeks for detached homes in January to November 2024, a figure that includes the applicant's own time.
Yes, a builder needs a licence to build a multiplex or any new home in British Columbia. The Homeowner Protection Act says "A person must not carry on the business of a residential builder unless licensed", and the definition of residential builder includes a developer and a general contractor. A new home must also be registered for home warranty insurance: at least 2 years for materials and labour, 5 years for the building envelope and 10 years for structure.
VanPlex, a Vancouver multiplex builder and developer site and one of the properties where Licheo's team tests its methods first, holds the featured snippet and the top organic result on Google for "multiplex developer vancouver" and is cited in Google's AI Overview for "multiplex co-development". Separately, a residential developer in Metro Vancouver went from 362 monthly visits from Google in its first full month to 1,256 in July 2026, read from Search Console on August 3, 2026.
Licheo builds a Vancouver home builder's website or fixes the existing one, makes it findable on Google and citable by AI assistants, and shapes each page so that a visit becomes an enquiry. It is one service with one flat monthly fee, month to month, and the work continues every month. Contact us for pricing. The usual first step is the free Get Found Check, which grades a website from A to F in under 60 seconds.
Licheo checks your home builder website against the specific competitive landscape of Vancouver, BC, then builds what is missing: the pages that get found, the proof that earns trust, and the clear next step that turns a visitor into a client.