Zoning · Vaughan · Residential

R3 zone, Vaughan: Third Density Residential Zone

Part 7, Section 7.2 (7.2.1 Table 7-2; 7.2.3 Table 7-4) of the City of Vaughan Zoning By-law 001-2021.

A neighbourhood zone for single detached houses on lots of at least 315 m² with 12 m of frontage, allowing up to 9.5 m in height and 50% lot coverage, with a secondary suite, home occupation or short-term rental permitted as accessory uses.

Is a property in the R3 zone? Enter its address and the lookup returns the zone and these standards, including any site-specific exception.

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What the R3 zone permits

  • Single detached dwelling
  • Independent living facility
  • Community garden (subject to specific use provisions, Part 5)
  • Model home (subject to specific use provisions, Part 5)
  • Temporary sales office (subject to specific use provisions, Part 5)
  • Home occupation (accessory; subject to specific use provisions, Part 5)
  • Secondary suite (accessory; subject to specific use provisions, Part 5)
  • Short-term rental (accessory; subject to specific use provisions, Part 5)

Standards

RequirementBy-law
Minimum lot area (interior lot)315 m²
Minimum lot width (interior lot)12 m12 m; where the lot is accessed by a lane, minimum lot frontage is 9.0 m (Table 7-4 note 5)
Minimum front yard4.5 m4.5 m; where a private garage faces the front lot line, minimum setback to the private garage is 5.7 m (Table 7-4 note 2)
Minimum interior side yard1.2 m
Minimum exterior side yard2.4 m2.4 m; where a private garage faces the exterior side lot line, minimum setback to the private garage is 5.7 m (Table 7-4 note 2)
Minimum rear yard6 m6.0 m; where the lot is accessed by a lane, minimum rear yard is 13.0 m (Table 7-4 note 5)
Maximum building height9.5 m
Maximum lot coverage50 %
Minimum landscaped open space33 %Minimum 33% landscape of the front yard or exterior side yard (a percentage of the yard, not of the whole lot)

Other provisions in this section

  • Semi-detached dwellings are not permitted in the R3 Zone (Table 7-2).
  • Where a lot is accessed by a lane, the minimum lot frontage is 9.0 m and the minimum rear yard is 13.0 m (Table 7-4, additional requirement 5, applied to R3 lot frontage and rear yard).
  • Where a private garage faces a front lot line or an exterior side lot line, the minimum setback to the private garage is 5.7 m (Table 7-4, additional requirement 2, applied to R3 front yard and exterior side yard).
  • Table 7-4 additional requirement 3 (interior side yard 3.5 m where the interior side lot line abuts a walkway, greenway or stormwater management facility) and requirement 4 (max height 9.5 m where lot coverage exceeds 40%) appear under the shared R2/R3 table but are not flagged on the R3 column values in the source text.
  • Community garden, model home, temporary sales office, home occupation, secondary suite and short-term rental are subject to the specific use provisions of Part 5 (Table 7-2 note 1).
  • Minimum landscaping of 33% applies to the front yard or exterior side yard.

Source: Part 7, Section 7.2 (7.2.1 Table 7-2; 7.2.3 Table 7-4), By-law 001-2021 (City of Vaughan), checked 2026-09-12. General provisions elsewhere in the by-law (parking, driveways, accessory buildings) also apply, and a numbered exception on the parcel can change any value here. Treat this as a pre-check, not a sign-off.

Other residential zones in Vaughan: R1, R1A, R1B, R1C, R1D, R1E, R2, R2A, R3A, R4, R4A, R5, R5A, RE, RM1, RM2, RM3, RT1, RT2