“I think we will look at repealing it,” Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson said of Bill 44 on October 30, 2026, when Saanich Mayor-elect Rishi Sharma asked him for a dialogue on the law (CHEK News). Bill 44 is the 2023 law that makes BC cities allow 3, 4 or 6 homes on lots once zoned for one house. No repeal bill exists yet, and the new legislature has not met. For a multiplex owner or builder, the part that matters most is your city’s zoning bylaw. It is a separate law, and it stays in force if Bill 44 goes.
What the new government has said
Two statements were reported on October 30, 2026.
The first is Doerkson’s answer to Sharma, quoted above. Asked “You want to look at repealing it?”, he said “Yeah.”
The second is from a Conservative Party spokesperson, answering Daily Hive’s questions about Bills 43, 44 and 47 (Daily Hive):
“Local governments aren’t a branch office of Victoria.”
“But where density goes, and what it looks like, should be decided in Terrace by people from Terrace and in Kelowna by people from Kelowna.”
Daily Hive also reports that Doerkson has indicated Bill 44 would “at minimum, be amended to give municipalities greater control,” and that he has committed to removing the housing targets set under Bill 43, the Housing Supply Act. On Bill 47, the transit-oriented area law, the spokesperson said only that cities “would still be expected to enable overall new housing growth.”
So the range today runs from an amendment to a full repeal, with no wording and no date.
Nothing can change before the legislature sits
The Legislative Assembly was dissolved on September 22, 2026. Its website says members of the 44th Parliament will be listed once certified results arrive on November 18, 2026 (Legislative Assembly of BC). A repeal needs a bill, debate, three readings and Royal Assent, so it cannot happen before the new legislature meets. Until then, Bill 44 is in force.
What Bill 44 requires today
The law passed third reading on November 29, 2023 (Legislative Assembly of BC, Bill 44 as passed). It makes cities allow at least 3 homes on lots of 280 m² or less, at least 4 on larger lots, and at least 6 on lots over 281 m² within 400 metres of a prescribed bus stop. It covers lots inside an urban containment boundary or in a municipality of more than 5,000 people (Province of BC, SSMUH Provincial Policy Manual, pages 8 and 9). Most cities had to update their zoning bylaws by June 30, 2024 (City of Richmond staff report).
That last step matters for any repeal. Cities met the law by changing their own zoning bylaws. Daily Hive, citing a June 2026 provincial update, reports that 97 per cent of municipal governments had adopted Bill 44 into their bylaws and policies. Repealing Bill 44 would take away the Province’s order. The city bylaws would stay as written until each council passes a new one.
Victoria’s Mayor Marianne Alto told CHEK: “the city will stay the course until council directs otherwise.”
City by city in Metro Vancouver
| City | Where its multiplex rules live | What VanPlex counts there |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | Council’s own multiplex bylaw, approved unanimously on September 14, 2023, before Bill 44 | 2,900 homes on 737 multiplex permit sites, measured September 11, 2026 |
| Burnaby | The R1 district in the City’s Zoning Bylaw 2026 | 28,586 R1 lots on our Burnaby densification map |
| New Westminster | RGO-A and RGO-B zones in Bylaw 8578, 2026 | 1,881 RGO-A lots (4 homes) and 1,127 RGO-B lots (6 homes), from the City’s parcel layer on September 19, 2026 |
Vancouver is the clearest case. Its council made multiplexes legal on its own on September 14, 2023, before Bill 44 passed third reading on November 29 (Daily Hive). A repeal of Bill 44 leaves that bylaw in place. Burnaby and New Westminster wrote their rules into their own zoning bylaws too, and those bylaws also stay until each council changes them.
My read, as someone who builds these: the risk sits with the cities that adopted Bill 44 because they had to. If the order goes away, those councils could vote to cut back what they allow.
What to do now
- If you have a project in permitting, keep going. Your city’s bylaw is what your permit is checked against, and it has not changed.
- If you’re buying a lot for a multiplex, check the city’s own zoning bylaw, not the provincial law. The bylaw is what a future council would have to amend.
- If you’re selling to a builder, the zoning on your lot today is what they are paying for, and it stays until your council changes it.
- Watch your council’s agenda, not only Victoria. A cut-back would come as a zoning bylaw amendment at your own city hall. VanPlex posts multiplex council decisions on our blog.
We’ll update this post when a bill is introduced.
David Babakaiff, Co-Founder, VanPlex | PlexRank™ | Profit with Multiplex
