SuiteRulesCanada
Home / Cities / British Columbia / District of North Vancouver
District of North Vancouver, BC suite & ADU rules

Permission first. Construction second.

The District of North Vancouver is implementing current provincial small-scale multi-unit housing requirements through its own planning and zoning process. The exact District parcel and current bylaw position therefore matter.

Main home
Secondary / ADU
One property · more than one approval layer
Interactive property lookup

Enter your address and see what your property may allow.

Select a B.C. property to check the parcel, available zoning and suite-planning data.

Enter a house number and street name to see matching B.C. addresses.

No sign-up, name, phone number or email required.

Before relying on this result, verify the property details.

The automated checker cannot confirm all zoning amendments, overlays, lot restrictions, servicing or building permits. Free human property-review requests are currently paused.

See the official verification steps →
Can’t find your address?

Use the manual property check below.

Start with the municipality and parcel area. The manual check stays open here, but the questions are split into 4 short steps so you do not have to scroll through everything at once.

Manual property check

Check the lot using what you know.

Four short steps. Answer what you know and choose “Not sure” for anything you have not checked.

Step 1 of 4Property basics
Step 1: Property basics

Use the parcel area from your property record, assessment or municipal mapping tool.

This does not change the provincial unit-count math. It only tailors the next-step checklist in your result.

Step 2: Basic zoning checks

If you do not know the zoning, choose Not sure.

What does this mean?

If you have never checked this on a municipal map or plan, choose Not sure.

Why are we asking?

Think houses, duplexes or small multiplexes. If you only know the zone code, choose Not sure.

Step 3: Possible exceptions

This is about subdivision rules, not the size of your current lot. Choose Not sure unless you know.

A TOA is a special mapped area around major transit. If you have never checked the map, choose Not sure.

Choose Yes only if the municipality has specifically confirmed it. Otherwise choose Not sure.

Step 4: Frequent bus check

If you have not checked an official map, choose Not sure.

Private by default: the calculation runs in your browser. No name, phone number or email is required.

Calculator loading…

Municipal rules · reviewed September 28, 2026

District of North Vancouver: the local rules that change the property answer

The District’s June 2024 amendments created a clear three-dwelling infill baseline on single-family lots inside the Urban Containment Boundary: the principal dwelling, a secondary suite and a coach house. Owner-occupancy and site constraints still matter.

1. Suite + coach house framework

  • The District’s 2024 Coach House Guide states that, as of June 2024, the Zoning Bylaw permits a secondary suite and a coach house in addition to the principal dwelling on each lot in all single-family zones within the Urban Containment Boundary.
  • This is more specific than the previous generic page text and should be the starting point for a qualifying single-family lot.

2. Owner occupancy remains a local condition

  • The current consolidated zoning material retains an owner-residency condition for a secondary suite: the owner must reside in either the principal dwelling or the secondary suite. The coach-house rule likewise carries an owner-residency condition.
  • Because the lookup does not verify owner occupancy, the automated result should not convert these forms to unconditional PERMITTED solely from a residential zoning label.

3. Coach house limits and UCB

  • Coach-house eligibility and size are zone-dependent. On July 20, 2026 the District adopted a new R2 urban detached residential zone for most single-family properties, with new coach-house provisions in Zoning Bylaw section 525. The former Coach House How-To Guide, including its 90 m² guidance, applies to RS zones only and must not be applied to an R2 parcel without checking section 525. Confirm zoning and the Urban Containment Boundary before assessing permission.
  • Exact parcel zoning and UCB status therefore matter even though the housing form is established District policy.

4. Hazard / permit overlays

  • GEOweb exposes current zoning and hazard/development-permit layers, including creek, slope, streamside and wildfire information.
  • Use the property map before relying on a result; a zoning permission can still require additional review or permits because of site conditions.

District of North Vancouver property-check FAQ

Can a DNV lot have both a secondary suite and coach house?

For single-family lots within the UCB, the District’s 2024 guide says the zoning was amended to permit both in addition to the principal dwelling.

Why is owner occupancy still shown as unresolved?

The current zoning material keeps an owner-residency condition, and an address/zoning lookup cannot verify who actually occupies the property.

How this guide was verified

Guide verification: Targeted official-source claim check (12 October 2026); not a comprehensive enacted-bylaw signoff. The identified claim is supported by or compared with the linked official source, subject to the verification limitations below.

Property confidence: Not assessed. City-wide guidance does not confirm permission for a particular parcel. Check official zoning, overlays and permits. How verification works →

Official District of North Vancouver sources

Rule sources used for this municipal guide.

DNV Council voting register — July 20, 2026 adoption of Bylaws 8787 / 8799 ↗DNV — Coach House How-To Guide (2024) ↗DNV Zoning Bylaw No. 3210 — check 2026 amendments ↗DNV GEOweb — current zoning and hazard data ↗B.C. SSMUH framework ↗Current official municipality zoning / suite rules ↗

Reviewed September 28, 2026. These links are the planning starting point; current parcel zoning, title constraints, servicing and permit requirements can still change the answer.

Official-source claim check · 12 October 2026: District 2024 coach-house guidance allows a coach house plus a suite on qualifying urban-containment single-family lots; owner-residency and siting restrictions remain. Official municipal evidence ↗ Remaining verification: Council records report July 20, 2026 adoption of Bylaws 8787/8799 for the R1 and R2 detached-residential zones. The full signed amendment text, section 525 and current parcel zoning still require direct verification; older RS-zone guides must not be applied indiscriminately to R2 parcels.