Policy & Zoning | Bill 44

Bill 44 and BC's SSMUH Mandate

Bill 44 — the Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023 — required every BC municipality with more than 5,000 residents to allow three to six dwelling units on most lots that previously held single-family homes. Royal Assent on 30 November 2023. Compliance deadline 30 June 2024.

Key Takeaways

✓Three units minimum on most former single-family lots; four on lots above 280 m²; six within 400 m of frequent transit.
✓Public hearings on compliant rezonings were eliminated for SSMUH-class projects.
✓The Minister of Housing has statutory power to override non-compliant municipalities.
✓ALR land, hazard lands, and unserviced parcels are excluded.

What the Legislation Actually Says

Bill 44 amended two pieces of statute: the Local Government Act for the rest of BC, and the Vancouver Charter for the City of Vancouver. The substantive change sits in new sections 481.3 to 481.5 of the Local Government Act (and parallel sections of the Charter). The province also published a Provincial Policy Manual and Site Standards that municipalities had to follow when drafting compliant bylaws.

The legislation does not redefine what counts as a dwelling unit or rewrite the BC Building Code. It changes what zoning by-laws are allowed to prohibit. A municipality cannot, after 30 June 2024, prohibit three to six units on a qualifying lot. Density thresholds, parking minima, and other detailed rules sit in the policy manual rather than the statute itself.

The Five Core Requirements

Three units on most lots

Municipalities with population over 5,000 must allow at least three dwelling units on lots that previously permitted single-family or duplex use, where serviced by water and sewer.

Four units on lots over 280 m²

Lots larger than 280 square metres must permit at least four units. The threshold roughly captures the standard 33-foot Vancouver lot at 122 m².

Six units near frequent transit

Lots within 400 metres of a frequent transit stop (defined as bus service every 15 minutes during peak hours) must allow up to six units.

No public hearing for compliant projects

Local governments cannot hold a public hearing for a rezoning application that is consistent with an official community plan and the SSMUH framework.

Updated OCPs and zoning bylaws

Each municipality had to update its Official Community Plan and zoning bylaw by 30 June 2024 to permit the housing forms required by the legislation.

Who Bill 44 Does Not Apply To

The legislation excludes several categories of land:

Municipalities with fewer than 5,000 residents are exempt from the core SSMUH provisions, though most have updated bylaws voluntarily.
Land inside the Agricultural Land Reserve remains governed by the Agricultural Land Commission Act.
Lots without water and sewer servicing — typically rural and semi-rural parcels on wells and septic — are excluded.
Identified hazard lands (floodplain, steep-slope, contaminated) can be excluded by the local government on safety grounds.
Heritage-protected properties retain their existing development controls.

The Override Mechanism

The District of North Vancouver became the test case. Council declined to adopt initial SSMUH bylaws and the matter has sat in front of the Minister of Housing since. Section 585.51 of the Local Government Act gives the Minister authority to direct a municipality to bring its bylaw into compliance, and ultimately to declare a default bylaw in force. The province has not exercised the full override power as of mid-2026, but the threat shaped the compliance behaviour of every other Metro Vancouver municipality.

See our North Shore page for the political detail and the District's stated planning concerns.

How Bill 44 Sits Beside the Other 2023 Bills

Bill 44 was one of three housing bills the province passed in late 2023. Bill 46 reformed development cost charges and created the new amenity cost charge tool. Bill 47 created Transit-Oriented Areas — designated zones around SkyTrain stations and major bus exchanges with their own minimum density and reduced parking standards. The three bills were drafted to layer on each other. SSMUH covers the residential street; TOA covers the half-mile around major transit; the DCC reforms cover how cities pay for infrastructure to support both.

Read our parking reform page for the Bill 47 parking implications and our zoning changes page for how cities translated the legislation into local bylaws.

Best For

✓ Owners of standard 33-foot Vancouver lots who want to know which density tier their property falls into.
✓ Builders preparing applications who need the statutory citations for an OCP-conformity argument.
✓ Anyone reading municipal news about North Shore non-compliance and wanting the legal context.

Usually Fails When

✕ You assume Bill 44 by itself overrides BC Building Code requirements like fire separation or egress.
✕ You expect the legislation to set strata or rental tenure rules.
✕ You apply the six-unit threshold to a lot more than 400 m from a frequent transit stop.

What To Verify Before Spending Money

→ The frequent transit stop classification with TransLink before assuming a six-unit allowance.
→ The specific compliant bylaw your city passed — the policy manual sets the floor, cities can go further.
→ Whether your lot has water and sewer or sits on well-and-septic.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Bill 44 in plain language?+

Bill 44 is the short name for the Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023. It amended the Local Government Act and the Vancouver Charter to require BC municipalities to allow three to six dwelling units on most parcels that previously held only single-family homes or duplexes. The act sits inside a wider set of housing reforms the province passed in 2023, including Bill 46 (development cost charges) and Bill 47 (transit-oriented areas).

When did Bill 44 take effect?+

Royal Assent was granted on 30 November 2023. The deadline for municipalities to update their bylaws was 30 June 2024, with limited extensions available. Most BC cities passed compliant bylaws ahead of the deadline.

Does Bill 44 force every lot to allow six units?+

No. The six-unit minimum applies only to lots within 400 m of a frequent transit stop on parcels larger than 280 m² with full servicing. Most lots in the province sit at the three or four-unit threshold.

Can a municipality refuse to comply?+

The District of North Vancouver refused initial SSMUH provisions. The Minister of Housing has authority under section 585.51 of the Local Government Act to override a non-compliant municipality and impose conformity by ministerial order.

Does Bill 44 apply to the Agricultural Land Reserve?+

No. ALR land remains governed by the Agricultural Land Commission Act. Heritage areas, hazard lands, and lands without water and sewer service are also excluded.

Does Bill 44 cover stratification?+

The legislation focuses on land use, not tenure. Whether a multiplex is built as strata or held as a single-title rental is decided by the developer and the Strata Property Act process. See our page on rental versus strata tenure.