In 2024, BC’s Bill 44 legislation required municipalities across the province to open single-family land to more density. The Comox Valley moved quickly: Courtenay rezoned 5,649 residential properties to a new designation called R-SSMUH, or Residential Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing, and Comox followed with over 4,000 lots under similar permissions. Together, these changes affected the majority of residential lots within the urban areas of Courtenay and Comox, now allowing up to four dwelling units on many residential lots, subject to servicing, lot size, and zoning requirements, where previously only one or two were permitted.
Two years later, knowing you can build four units and knowing how to get there are not the same thing.
What the zoning actually allows
The R-SSMUH zone replaced 16 older residential zones in a single council vote. In Courtenay, the result is that most residential lots in the city can now accommodate up to four units, in combinations that include single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses, secondary suites, and detached accessory dwelling units.
The detached accessory dwelling unit is a separate building on the same lot: a carriage house, a cottage, a small stand-alone home. It counts toward the four-unit total, but it can sit at the back of the lot while the front still reads as a single-family street.
The minimum lot size is 280 square metres, which is smaller than most people picture when they imagine a buildable lot. A standard Courtenay residential lot from the 1970s or 1980s clears that minimum with room to spare. Lot coverage limits are significantly more flexible than under the City’s former single-family zoning and, depending on lot size and building form, may allow up to 70 per cent coverage.
The Town of Comox followed the same path, with over 4,000 lots now subject to similar multi-unit permissions under its updated zoning bylaw. Cumberland is a different story. The Village is currently exempt because its population remains below the provincial threshold, though that could change through future growth or policy changes. Anyone looking at residential land in Cumberland for this purpose should verify current zoning before assuming the same permissions apply.
One condition applies across all three municipalities: the full density potential generally requires connection to both community water and sewer. Provincial rules allow municipalities to limit SSMUH density on properties not connected to those services, and in practice that usually means no more than one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on a lot with a well or septic system.
Where lot size starts to matter
The bylaw’s density allowance is the same whether a lot is 400 square metres or 1,600. Four units is four units. In practice, though, a larger lot gives considerably more to work with: room for setbacks, parking, open space, and the kind of building footprint that makes four units genuinely livable rather than just technically permitted.
East Courtenay has a number of older properties with more generous dimensions than the city’s newer subdivisions. A half-acre lot on the east side isn’t rare, and in the current market those properties are still available at prices that leave room to build.
A property like that (on city water and sewer, with an existing structure generating rental income, on a lot large enough to develop in phases) is exactly what the R-SSMUH zone was designed for. The existing building pays carrying costs while the owner works through the development process: design, permits, Development Cost Charges, construction. By the time shovels go in, the land has been earning.
Development Costs and Timelines
Getting to four units on an R-SSMUH lot involves real costs and a real timeline. The arithmetic can look compelling before those numbers are in it.
Development Cost Charges are the City’s one-time fees for growth-related infrastructure: roads, water, sewer, parks. Courtenay updated its DCC rates in April 2026, so anyone planning a project should confirm current charges directly with the City’s development services department. They vary by unit type and add meaningfully to project costs.
If the property falls within a Development Permit Area, additional design review applies. The City updated its Development Permit Areas in May 2025 to address the form and character of SSMUH development specifically, so there is guidance now on what that process looks like. A pre-application meeting with City planning staff is the right first step; it’s free, and it answers most of the practical questions before anyone spends money on drawings.
The timeline from purchase to occupancy on a multi-unit build typically runs one to three years depending on the scope of the project and permit timelines. For a buyer who wants income from day one, a rentable structure already on the lot isn’t just a convenience: it changes the financial picture of the entire hold period.
What this means for buyers
Most of the people I talk to about SSMUH aren’t large developers. They’re property owners looking at an oversized lot, families trying to house multiple generations on one property, or investors wondering whether a holding property might become something more over time. For all of them, the zoning question used to come first and often ended the conversation. That part has changed.
What hasn’t changed is that development costs, carrying costs, and construction costs all need to work together. Depending on inventory and condition, opportunities still exist in east Courtenay where the land value leaves room for future redevelopment. But the zoning is no longer the obstacle it once was.
If you’re looking at a property with this kind of potential, or wondering whether something you already own qualifies, it’s worth a conversation.
Zoning information reflects Courtenay’s R-SSMUH zone as of June 2026. Development Cost Charges, permit requirements, and site-specific conditions vary. Consult the City of Courtenay Development Services and a qualified professional before making development decisions.