What Can I Do in Edmonton's RS Zone?

What Happened to the MNO?

The new Zoning Bylaw has retired the Mature Neighbourhood Overlay (MNO) and incorporated certain MNO regulations into the new residential zones. This includes removing or updating regulations that make development difficult or do not align with the goals of City Plan. Things like privacy and window location regulations, maximum dormer width, maximum basement elevation, contextual front and rear setbacks, and the community consultation process for variances have been removed altogether. Other changes are explained in more detail in the rest of this article.

Basic RS Regulations: Site Size and Density

Like most zones, the RS Zone sets rules for the minimum size of a property and the maximum size of any building on it.

To develop in the RS Zone, your site must be at least:

• 225 square metres in area
• 7.5 metres wide
• 30 metres deep

These minimums apply to all types of development allowed in the RS Zone.

In the RS zone, density is based on site size. You need a minimum of 75 square metres per unit, no matter what type of unit it is.

So, for example:

• On a 225 m² lot (the minimum site size), you can build up to 3 units.
• On a 600 m² lot, the maximum allowed is 8 units.

Under the old rules, there was a distinction between principal units (like row houses) and accessory units (like basement suites or garden suites). That distinction no longer exists in the new Zoning Bylaw—all units count equally toward the total.

That means on a 600 m² site, you can build up to 8 units, and there are many ways to configure them. One common approach in Edmonton is a 4-unit row house with 4 basement suites. But the RS zone is flexible—you could also consider:

• A 3-unit row house with 3 basement suites and 2 backyard homes
• An 8-unit apartment building
• Two semi-detached houses with basement suites
• Stacked row housing
• Cluster housing

The RS zone gives you options—as long as your design fits within the unit count, height, and site coverage rules.

In theory, a site larger than 600 square metres could accommodate more than eight units, and this will be possible on corner sites. However, the maximum density on non-corner sites will be limited to eight units regardless of the size of the site. If you have a bigger site, you might be able to build more than eight units if you subdivide it strategically.

Basic RS Regulations: Building Size

Now that we’ve figured out how many units you can fit on your site, it’s time to look at the maximum size of your buildings. The building size is controlled by three key things: how much of the site is covered by the building (the site coverage), the distance from the building to the property lines (the setbacks), and the building height.

Site Coverage

The maximum total site coverage in the RS zone is the same for all types of development—45%.

Keep in mind that only 20% of that can be used for garages or backyard housing (formerly called garden suites).

This means you’ll need to think carefully about how you divide that 45% between your main building and any lane-facing structures.

For example:
If you use the full 45% site coverage for your main building, you won’t be able to build a garage or backyard house. You’d need to rely on uncovered parking instead. That’s totally allowed—just make sure it fits your plans.

Setbacks & Building Lengths

Once you know your site coverage, the next thing to consider is setbacks—these control how far your building must be from the edges of your property.

Here are the key terms:

• Front setback: the distance from the main building to the front property line
• Rear setback: the distance from the main building to the back property line
• Side setbacks: the distance from the sides of your building to the side property lines

On corner lots, there are two types of side setbacks:

• Internal side setback: beside your neighbour
• Flanking side setback: beside the street
  Also important: the front of a corner lot is always the shorter of the two property lines facing the streets—not necessarily the side your front door faces.

The good news? In the RS zone, front and rear setbacks are simple and consistent:

• Minimum front setback: 4.5 metres
• Minimum rear setback: 10.0 metres

Side setbacks are a bit trickier because they depend on your building type, layout, and whether or not your lot is on a corner.

Let’s start with non-corner sites:

• For single detached, semi-detached, and row or multi-unit housing where all the entrances face the front, the minimum side setback is 1.2 metres on each side.
• If you’re building row or multi-unit housing and any of the main unit entrances face the side property line, the setback on that side increases to 1.9 metres.

This increase from 1.5 to 1.9 metres took effect on July 8, 2025, and it’s important to factor it into your site planning. Entrances facing the side = more space needed.

On corner sites, the minimum interior side setback is still 1.2 metres. If a main entrance for any kind of housing faces the flanking side, the minimum flanking side setback is 2.0 metres. Otherwise it’s just 1.2 metres.

The last thing to note is that even if your setbacks seem to allow for a long building, there’s a hard limit on how long your building can actually be.

In the RS zone, the maximum building length is the lesser of:

• 25.0 metres, or
• 50% of your lot’s depth

So, for example, if your lot is 40 metres deep, the longest your building can be is 20 metres.

This rule changed on July 8, 2025—before that, the limit was a flat 30 metres. The new regulation is more restrictive, so make sure to factor it into your building design early on.

Side Entrances

As of July 8, 2025, Edmonton’s RS zone includes a new limit on the number of side-facing entrances. You can now have a maximum of two entrances facing an interior side lot line. For builders planning a four-unit row house mid-block, this means entrances will need to be split—some to the left, some to the right.

This change also affects how much room you’ll need on the sides. When an entrance faces an interior side lot line, the required setback is 1.9 metres. So in a lot of cases, you’ll likely need larger setbacks on both sides.

Height

The maximum height in the RS zone is 10.5 metres. This is a slight increase from the previous maximum of 8.9 metres under the Mature Neighbourhood Overlay, and it will make it much easier to construct three-storey buildings.

Note that City of Edmonton development officers (the people who approve your development permit) are (still) not able to grant a variance on height. So, 10.5 metres is all you get (unless you want to try your luck at the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, but that’s another can of worms).

Driveways & Garages

One last thing about the RS zone: if your property has an alley, you are not allowed to have a driveway or garage facing the street. Garages have to be in the back, facing the rear lane. This is true even if you’re building a new house that replaces an old house that had a front garage—you will be required to remove the driveway and garage, rebuild the curb, and put the new garage in the back.

Secondary Suites & Backyard Housing

We know—that was a lot of info! But here are a few final things to keep in mind about the RS zone.

One of the best features of the RS zone is its flexibility in housing types. You can mix and match different kinds of units, as long as you stay within the site coverage and unit count limits.

Here’s how it works in Edmonton:

• A secondary suite is a unit located inside the main building (usually in the basement, but not always).
• A backyard house is a separate unit located in the backyard. It can be:
  
  • Attached to a garage (either beside or above it), or
  • A standalone building.

The RS zone allows you to have both secondary suites in the main building and a backyard house on the same site—just make sure you’re not going over your total allowed unit count.

Secondary suites are also allowed in single detached, semi-detached, and row housing. Backyard houses are allowed with any housing type.

One important note: secondary suites and backyard houses can’t be separated from the main home through subdivision or condo conversion. If you want to subdivide or condo the units, all of them must be principal units (not suites). Just be sure to check on any building code or servicing requirements that may apply.

In short: the RS zone gives you lots of options, but make sure your design aligns with the rules for unit count, setbacks, and how units are defined.

Commercial Uses

Another big change in the RS zone is that it allows for commercial buildings (albeit in very limited circumstances). Things like cafes, medical offices, retail stores, and offices are all allowed in the zone. The catch is that your site needs to be next to another site that’s in a commercial zone. We’re hopeful that future changes to the Zoning Bylaw will expand these opportunities to allow for things like corner stores in other parts of mature neighbourhoods too.

Thinking about redeveloping your property? We can help!

In conclusion, there’s a lot you can do in the RS zone and we hope this article helped you understand what’s possible and what to watch for!

We know there’s a lot of information here, and we’re here to help. If you want us to take a more detailed look at what you can do with your property, we can provide you with a Zoning Analysis to assess the site against applicable policy and regulation, presenting key considerations, site plan scenarios, and pros and cons associated with potential (re)development options.

We can also coordinate your permit drawings and handle your development permit application for small scale multi-unit housing including row housing, stacked row housing, and garden suites. Lastly, if you’re looking to build something that the RS zone won’t allow for, we can also help you rezone your property.