Half Duplex | Living in one
Yard and Outdoor Space in a Half Duplex
One lot now carries two homes, so the outdoor space is smaller than the detached house that stood there. What matters more is whether the part you are shown is legally yours.
The short answer
Outdoor space on a half duplex is usually a patio, a small yard, or a roof deck, and it is often common property with exclusive use granted to one unit rather than something you own. Exclusive use should be registered on the strata plan. If it is only how the current owners have divided it, you are not buying a right.
Newly built half duplexs on the market
635 active listings
- Median list price
- $1,575,000
- Median price per sq ft
- $841
- Median size
- 1,956 sq ft
- Median strata fee
- $310
- Median annual property tax
- $5,000
typical range $1,129,000 to $2,348,480
typical range $476 to $1,261
typical range 1,427 sq ft to 3,141 sq ft
typical range $104 to $601
37 of 635 listings state one
typical range $2,603 to $8,242
224 of 635 listings state one
Measured across 635 active listings on .
Where these homes are
Click a pin for the photo, the price, and a Street View link.
300 of 635 homes plotted. 302 more have coordinates but were left off to keep the map readable. The ones shown are spread evenly across the price range rather than taken from one end. 33 listings have no coordinates in the feed and cannot be placed. Click a pin for the photo, the price, and a Street View link. Zoom with the plus and minus buttons or by pinching.
Homes behind these numbers
$679,0001 9636 ST DAVID STREET
Chilliwack Proper East · 3 bed · 1,777 sq ft
$759,0001155 KEEFER STREET
Strathcona · 2 bed · 784 sq ft
$812,0002473 BECK ROAD
Central Abbotsford · 3 bed · 1,609 sq ft
$812,0002485 BECK ROAD
Abbotsford East · 3 bed · 1,609 sq ft
$838,0002 3583 HAIDA DRIVE
Renfrew Heights · 3 bed · 1,050 sq ft
$838,0001 3583 HAIDA DRIVE
Renfrew Heights · 3 bed · 1,040 sq ft
$848,000
Freehold
2465 BECK ROAD
Abbotsford East · 3 bed · 1,609 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8576 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$859,900
Freehold
8548 DUNBAR WAY
Mission · 4 bed · 2,233 sq ft
$869,90044720 WILLOWSTREAM ROAD
Lower Landing · 4 bed · 2,306 sq ft
$899,9001051 CELIA CRESCENT
Gibsons & Area · 3 bed · 1,702 sq ft
$915,000
Freehold
32539 HIGGINBOTTOM COURT
Mission · 4 bed · 2,687 sq ft
623 more active listings are not shown here. Search every active listing . Prices are the list price. Most new homes have GST added on top.
Owned, exclusive use, or informal
In a freehold non-strata home the outdoor space is simply yours. In a strata it is usually common property, and the right to use a particular part of it is granted to one unit as exclusive use.
Exclusive use is real and it is registered. What is not real is an informal arrangement where the two households have simply agreed who uses what. That evaporates when either home changes hands, and it is the most common outdoor-space surprise in a small strata.
What you can and cannot do with it
Exclusive use gives you the use, not free rein. Bylaws frequently restrict what can be built, planted, or stored, and anything attached to the building normally needs strata approval even in a two-owner strata.
Drainage is the one to take seriously. Outdoor space above living area, which describes a lot of roof decks and some patios, sits on top of a membrane, and water getting through it is an expensive shared problem.
What to establish before you offer
Get the strata plan and find the outdoor space on it. That is the answer, and it takes a minute once you have the document.
- → Whether the space is common property, exclusive use, or owned outright
- → Whether exclusive use is registered on the strata plan or merely customary
- → What the bylaws allow you to build, plant, or store there
- → Who maintains it, and who pays if the membrane under a deck fails
Read next
Common questions
Do half duplexes have yards?
Usually some private outdoor space, and less than the detached house that previously occupied the lot, because the lot now carries two homes. How much varies a great deal, and the back unit generally gets the larger share on a front-and-back split.
Is the patio actually mine?
In a strata it is usually common property with exclusive use granted to your unit, which should be registered on the strata plan. Ask to see it there. An informal arrangement between the current owners is not something you can rely on.
Can I build a deck or plant a tree?
Check the bylaws. Exclusive use grants you the use, not unrestricted freedom, and anything attached to the building normally needs strata approval even where there are only two owners.
Where these figures come from
- VanPlex active listings, MLS® data
Active townhouses, half duplexes, and row houses built in the last two years across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
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See the half duplexes on the market
Every figure in this hub comes from listings you can open. Search the full set and filter by price, bedrooms, freehold or strata, pets, parking, and distance to a station.