Straight answers
Can you still build a laneway house in Port Moody?
Yes, but not under the rules most guides describe. Port Moody deleted its detached accessory dwelling unit category in June 2024 and replaced it with an additional dwelling unit under small-scale multi-unit housing. There is no unit size restriction: in the RS1 zone density is a floor area ratio of 0.7 for three dwelling units, rising by 0.1 for each additional unit to a maximum of 1.0 for six, and lane access is not required. Any page describing Port Moody laneway homes in the old detached accessory dwelling terms is describing a category that no longer exists.
Figures verified against the sources below · August 31, 2026
01 — The longer answer
How Port Moody's neighbours differ
The City's small-scale multi-unit housing page states that a laneway, coach house or accessory dwelling unit is permitted where it meets the SSMUH RS1 zoning requirements. The figures we have verified cover the RS1 zone; do not assume they carry to other zones.
The neighbouring municipalities are genuinely different. Port Coquitlam caps an accessory dwelling unit at 90 square metres excluding an attached garage, to two storeys, and requires sprinklers and a firefighting access path at least 1 metre wide to the street. Coquitlam permits up to four dwelling units on a lot in its R-1 small-scale residential zone and sizes them by floor area ratio rather than by a cap on the individual unit; its 90 square metre carriage house rule survives only in the RT-1 legacy zone.
We confirm the rules against your actual municipality as the first step of every project, free.
02 — Where to go next
03 — Sources
Each figure above links to the authority it came from.
City of Port Moody small-scale multi-unit housing page: a laneway, coach house or accessory dwelling unit is permitted where it meets the SSMUH RS1 zoning requirements, and there is no requirement for lane access in SSMUH
portmoody.caCity of Port Coquitlam accessory dwelling units page and Zoning Bylaw 3630: maximum floor area 90 sq m excluding an attached garage or carport, maximum two storeys, sprinklers required, and a minimum 1 m wide unobstructed firefighting access path to the street
portcoquitlam.caCity of Coquitlam small-scale multi-unit housing: zoning bylaw changes adopted 9 June 2025, with legacy zones defined by zoning as of 30 June 2025
coquitlam.ca
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