Families with children are an important part of a vibrant and inclusive city. Making sure Vancouver has enough suitable housing for families contributes to the success of our community. More families are choosing to live in apartments, increasing from 25% in 2001 to 39% in 2021. Apartments are also home to many other types of households and are the fastest-growing form of housing in Vancouver.
To support this shift, we have tools in place to make sure new apartments include larger, family-friendly homes with functional and livable layouts. These requirements are now being reviewed as part of a broader update to apartment design regulations.
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What's happeningRecent updates to apartment design requirements
On December 10, 2025, Council directed staff to bring forward zoning bylaw changes for new apartments in Vancouver. These changes make it easier to build and support development success, while maintaining livability standards.
On July 28, 2026, Council approved Updating Apartment Regulations PDF file (2.6 MB), which modernized and streamlined our zoning rules, rezoning policies, and guidelines by:
- Improving livability by allowing larger balconies and residential amenity spaces.
- Maintaining family-sized housing by making sure 2 and 3-bedroom units continue to be included in most new apartment buildings across all neighbourhoods.
- Improving functionality of apartments with a minimum amount of bulk storage for each unit, while giving architects more flexibility in how they design and integrate storage.
- Diversify apartment layouts through greater design flexibility, including better use of interior rooms without windows.
This work is being coordinated with several other initiatives, including improvements to the permitting process and the recently approved City-wide Design and Development Guide.
Updated zoning by-laws and policies will be published after the changes become enacted and effective on October 27, 2026.
Family Room: Housing mix policy for rezoning projects
The Family Room: Housing Mix Policy for Rezoning Projects (2016) PDF file (300 KB) provides the requirements and targets for family units in rezoning projects for residential strata housing and secured market rental housing.
This policy raised the targets for family units (units with 2 or more bedrooms) in rezoning projects from 25% to 35%, helping create more housing options for families in Vancouver.
Information icon On July 28, 2026, Council approved amendments to this policy to standardize the unit mix requirements for rental and strata housing projects, aligned with new updates to the Zoning and Development By-law. The updated policy will be effective on October 27, 2026.
High-density housing for families with children
The High-Density Housing for Families with Children Guidelines PDF file (308 KB), published in 1992, provide direction on project planning, project design, unit design, and amenity areas to improve the livability of high density housing for families with children.
Information icon On July 28, 2026, Council approved the new City-wide Design and Development Guidelines (CDDG). The High-Density Housing for Families with Children Guidelines will be repealed and replaced by the CDDG effective October 27, 2026.
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