Since Bill 44, most serviced residential lots in British Columbia are zoned for at least three or four units. That permission is now so widespread that it is no longer the interesting question. The interesting question is whether anything else on your property overrides it.
Often something does, and it is not on any zoning map. It is registered on your title, it was probably put there decades ago by a developer, and it takes precedence over what the municipality permits today.
What the Province actually says
The provincial policy manual is direct about this. On covenants:
"Existing section 219 covenants are not affected by the SSMUH legislation. However, local governments should not pursue new covenants that would prevent the prescribed residential densities required under the SSMUH legislation."
And on building schemes:
"Provided the building scheme is valid, an existing statutory building scheme registered on title that limits the use of a property to one dwelling unit will take precedence over the unit densities prescribed through zoning updates made in accordance with the SSMUH legislation. This does not prevent a local government from zoning land subject to a statutory building scheme for a higher density, but the first responsibility of the owner(s) of that land is to uphold the terms of the building scheme."
Read that second passage twice. The Province is saying that a municipality can zone your lot for four units and you can still be bound to one, and that upholding the private agreement on your title is your first responsibility.
A real example, 651 properties in Sooke
This is not theoretical. The District of Sooke worked it out lot by lot when it drafted its own small scale multi unit bylaw, and published the result.
In the CD2 zone, Sun River Estates, 651 properties meet every provincial criterion for the new density. None of them can use it. The District's staff report explains why: an existing covenant, CA4056986, caps the whole development at 715 units, and that ceiling has already been reached.
In the District's own words:
"In the CD2 zone, although 651 properties can meet all the above prescribed criteria, none of these properties have the option for 3 or 4 units because there is an overall density of 715 units prescribed under existing covenant CA4056986. The maximum density has been reached in Sunriver."
The same report states the general rule plainly: the legislation does not affect existing covenants made under section 219 of the Land Title Act, those covenants remain in force, and lots subject to one still have to be zoned to allow the new density. The zoning changes. What you may build does not.
Sources: District of Sooke staff report, zoning bylaw amendments to permit small scale multi unit housing
What these documents are
Two different things, both registered against title, both capable of stopping a project.
A section 219 covenant is a promise about the land itself, registered under section 219 of the Land Title Act in favour of a municipality, the Crown or another body. It can require something or prohibit something: no subdivision, no second dwelling, no building outside a defined area, no removal of trees. It runs with the land, so it binds every future owner, not just the one who signed it.
A statutory building scheme is a set of restrictions a developer registers over a whole subdivision, binding every lot in it, usually to protect a uniform character. One dwelling per lot is a common term, and in older neighbourhoods it may have been written when the subdivision was created.
Neither is visible from the street, and neither appears on a zoning map. Both sit on the title, under charges.
Sources: Land Title Act, SSMUH Provincial Policy Manual and Site Standards
Where a covenant gets added on purpose
Covenants are not only historical. Some municipalities require a new one before they will let you build the extra unit at all.
Take the Highlands. It permits one principal dwelling plus one accessory dwelling unit, not the three, four or six unit tiers, and that is not a refusal to follow the provincial rules. The tiers only reach lots connected to both municipal water and municipal sewer, and most of the roughly 2,100 residents of the Highlands rely on private wells, with each lot assessed for its own well and its own sewage system under the District's subdivision bylaw. The extra unit there is the District's own, granted through a density benefit scheme rather than required by the Province.
That unit is conditional. The owner must register a section 219 covenant prohibiting subdivision of the accessory unit from the principal dwelling, and that covenant must be registered before the building permit application. The unit is also capped at 90 square metres, the owner must occupy one of the two units as a principal residence, and no home based business is permitted in the accessory unit.
So in one municipality a covenant is the obstacle, and in another it is the price of admission. Either way it is a document on your title that decides what you can build.
Sources: Highlands staff report, 12 June 2024, Highlands Zoning Bylaw 100, consolidated, Highlands groundwater and well information, SSMUH Provincial Policy Manual and Site Standards
How to check, before you make an offer
This takes one search and a few minutes of reading.
Start with the PID, the nine digit parcel identifier on the listing or the assessment notice. Order a title search on that PID through the Land Title and Survey Authority or through a lawyer, a notary or your REALTOR.
Then read the charges section rather than the ownership section. You are looking for a section 219 covenant, a statutory building scheme, or a restrictive covenant, each shown with its own registration number. Order the actual document behind any number you find, because the title only names the charge. The terms are in the document.
If you are buying with density in mind, do this during your conditions, not after. A covenant found in week one is a negotiation. A covenant found after closing is a loss.
Sources: Land Title and Survey Authority, search for a title, Land Title Act
If you find one
A registered covenant or building scheme is not always permanent, but removing one is a legal proceeding, not a form.
Section 35 of the Property Law Act lets the Supreme Court of British Columbia modify or cancel a registered charge, expressly including a restrictive covenant and a statutory building scheme. The grounds include that the restriction is obsolete because the character of the land or the neighbourhood has changed, that it impedes reasonable use of the land without practical benefit to others, that everyone entitled to the benefit has agreed, that modification will not injure them, or that the instrument is invalid or has expired.
Those are real routes, and applications do succeed. They also fail, and the outcome turns on the specific wording, who benefits from it and what the neighbourhood looks like now. Nobody can promise you a result in advance, and how courts will treat these restrictions against the new provincial density rules is not settled. Talk to a real estate lawyer before you price a discharge into a purchase.
The cheaper conversation usually comes first. If a municipality holds the covenant, ask the municipality what it would take to amend or discharge it. If a developer's building scheme binds the subdivision, find out whether it has an expiry date, because many do.
Sources: Property Law Act, section 35
What this means for you
If you are buying for density: the title search comes before the pro forma, not after. A lot with the right zoning, the right size and the right servicing can still be a one unit lot.
If you are selling: know what is on your title before you market the property on its development potential. A buyer who discovers a covenant during conditions will either walk or reprice, and both are worse than knowing first.
If you already own: a covenant may be why your lot did not show the potential you expected. It is worth knowing which document is doing it, and whether it has an end date.
Zoning tells you what the municipality permits. Your title tells you what you are allowed to do. When the two disagree, the title wins.
FAQ
Does Bill 44 override a covenant on my title?
No. The provincial policy manual states that existing section 219 covenants are not affected by the small scale multi unit housing legislation, and that a valid statutory building scheme limiting a property to one dwelling unit takes precedence over the density the zoning permits.
What is a section 219 covenant?
A promise about the land, registered on title under section 219 of the Land Title Act in favour of a municipality, the Crown or another body. It can require or prohibit something, such as subdivision or a second dwelling, and it binds every future owner.
What is a statutory building scheme?
A set of restrictions registered by a developer over every lot in a subdivision, usually to keep a uniform character. One dwelling per lot is a common term.
How do I find out if my property has one?
Order a title search on the PID through the Land Title and Survey Authority, a lawyer, a notary or your REALTOR, then read the charges. Order the document behind any registration number you find, because the terms are in the document rather than on the title.
Can a covenant be removed?
Sometimes. Section 35 of the Property Law Act lets the Supreme Court of British Columbia modify or cancel a restrictive covenant or a building scheme on grounds that include obsolescence, that it impedes reasonable use without practical benefit to others, or agreement by those entitled to the benefit. Outcomes vary, so speak with a real estate lawyer before relying on it.
Is there a real example of this in Greater Victoria?
Yes. In Sooke's CD2 zone, Sun River Estates, 651 properties meet every criterion for the new density and none can use it, because covenant CA4056986 caps the development at 715 units and that ceiling has been reached.
Run your address through the free development potential assessment. It reads the zoning, the lot and the rules that apply to your specific parcel, and tells you what is actually permitted. Then order the title search, because that is the half the zoning map cannot show you.
