On most residential lots in Port Moody, the answer is now yes. Since June 2024, provincial rules allow three, four, and in some places six homes where only a single house or a duplex used to be permitted. A fourplex, four homes on one lot, is the most common version of that change. This is a plain guide to when it is allowed, how the City reviews it, and what the numbers do and do not promise.
The short answer
The rules come from BC Bill 44, the Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, passed in 2023. It requires most BC municipalities, Port Moody included, to permit small-scale multi-unit housing, or SSMUH, on land that used to allow only a house or a duplex. Port Moody brought its zoning into line on June 25, 2024, through Amendment Bylaw No. 3460.
Since then, four units are permitted outright on most qualifying lots. That phrase matters. A fourplex that meets the rules does not need a rezoning and does not go to a public hearing.
Four homes on a standard Port Moody lot are allowed by right, not by rezoning. The project still needs a permit and has to meet the City's design rules, but it skips the public hearing that used to stand in the way.
Which lots allow four homes
Two things decide the number: how big the lot is, and how close it sits to frequent transit.
| Your lot | Homes allowed |
|---|---|
| Under 280 m² | Up to 3 units |
| 280 m² to 4,050 m² | Up to 4 units |
| 280 m² to 4,050 m², within 400 m of frequent transit | Up to 6 units |
"Frequent transit" means a stop with service roughly every 15 minutes. When the City adopted the bylaw, its staff estimated that about 3,709 Port Moody lots qualify for up to four units, and 515 sit close enough to frequent transit to reach six. Only around a dozen fall under the 280 m² line that caps them at three. For the large majority of Port Moody lots, four is the baseline.
How the City reviews it: a Minor Development Permit
Instead of a rezoning, Port Moody handles SSMUH projects through a Minor Development Permit, often shortened to MDP. The City checks the design against its own bylaws, setbacks, lot coverage, parking, and tree retention, rather than sending it to council for a hearing. That path is faster and more predictable than the process a fourplex would have faced a few years ago.
Municipalities still set their own rules for floor area, height, setbacks, and lot coverage. What the province took away is the ability to make a fourplex effectively impossible. Its guidance points cities toward heights of at least three storeys and reduced parking near transit, so the room to build four homes is real, not just theoretical.
What the application record shows
The clearest sign that fourplexes are practical in Port Moody is that people are already filing them. As of mid-2026, the City's development-application record lists a steady run of SSMUH Minor Development Permits, most of them four-unit projects. They appear across the city: on Westmount Drive, Valour Drive, Ioco Road, Glencoe Drive, Mount Royal Drive, and Clarke Road, alongside a smaller number of six-unit projects clustered on Clarke Street near transit.
In other words, the fourplex is not a hypothetical in Port Moody. It is the form most SSMUH applicants are actually choosing to build.
What "up to four" does not guarantee
The number is a ceiling, not a promise. Whether four homes genuinely fit, and make sense, on a given lot depends on grade, tree retention, servicing, setbacks, and plain economics. On a steep lot, three larger homes may be the better answer. On a flat lot with good access, four can work comfortably.
One title issue is worth checking early. A single-dwelling covenant registered on a property is not automatically erased by Bill 44. It has to be discharged before a multiplex can proceed, and a title search will show whether one exists.
The law made four homes possible on most Port Moody lots. It did not decide whether four is the right number for any one of them.
One exception worth knowing: near Moody Centre
If a property sits within roughly 800 metres of Moody Centre SkyTrain station, a different provincial law may apply. Bill 47 sets minimum apartment-scale densities inside transit-oriented areas, and where it overlaps the SSMUH rules, the higher provincial floor governs. For most of Port Moody, away from that station, SSMUH and the fourplex are the relevant frame. Near Moody Centre, it is worth confirming which rule your lot falls under before assuming four is the answer.
Where to start
Begin by finding the lot on the City's zoning map and checking its size and its distance to frequent transit. Confirm whether any covenant sits on the title. Read the full rules for the housing types SSMUH allows, and the FAQ for costs and timelines. For a plain read of one specific property against the current bylaw, a feasibility study is free and comes with no obligation.
Common questions
Does a fourplex in Port Moody require rezoning?
No. On qualifying lots, four homes are permitted outright under the zoning bylaw. The project is reviewed through a Minor Development Permit and a building permit, with no rezoning and no public hearing.
How many Port Moody lots qualify for four units?
When the City adopted Bylaw 3460, staff estimated about 3,709 lots qualify for up to four units, with a further 515 close enough to frequent transit to reach six. Only around a dozen lots fall under the 280 m² line that caps them at three.
Does 'up to four' mean four homes will fit on any lot?
No. The number is a ceiling, not a promise. Grade, tree retention, servicing, setbacks, and economics decide how many homes genuinely fit a given lot, and on some lots three larger homes are the better answer.
What should be checked before designing a fourplex?
The lot's size and transit distance on the City's zoning map, any covenant on title, and the site conditions such as trees and slope. A single-dwelling covenant is not erased by Bill 44 and must be discharged before a multiplex can proceed.
Sources