What Bill 25 Does — and What It Does Not

Bill 25 is the Province of B.C.’s Housing and Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act, 2025. It received Royal Assent on November 27, 2025. It is a follow-up to Bill 44. It is not a transportation statute.

Its main job is to make small-scale multi-unit housing (SSMUH) apply more consistently: where those units must be allowed, by when municipalities must update zoning, and what the Province can regulate (form, density, parking).

What it changed

• It widened the definition of a “restricted zone” — generally any zone (other than a manufactured-home zone) still limited to a house, a house plus suite/laneway, or a duplex. Those zones must allow the SSMUH unit counts.
• Municipalities that have to change zoning because of that definition were given a compliance date of June 30, 2026, unless an extension or exemption applies.
• It expanded provincial regulation-making power over housing form (triplex, row house, townhouse), density (how much floor area), and off-street parking for these small-scale projects.
• It also amended the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act (principal residence, enforcement, information-sharing). That part is separate from rezoning a specific Delta lot.

How it relates to Bill 44

Bill 44 (2023) created the 3 / 4 / 6 unit framework and restricted some zoning public hearings. Bill 25 is the 2025 cleanup: close gaps where a municipality could still treat a zone as “single-family only,” and tighten parking and form rules so implementation is more uniform.

Companion: What Bill 44 Does — and What It Does Not.

What it does not do by itself

• It does not automatically turn a 27-unit project into 40 units.
• It does not erase subdivision, tree, or servicing decisions on a specific file.
• It does not replace Bill 47 (taller buildings in prescribed transit-oriented areas).
• It does not remove public hearings for Official Community Plan amendments.

If someone says “this is Bill 25,” ask: which section, which zone, and does the lot meet the frequent-transit test for six units?

Sources

• Province of B.C. — Local government housing initiatives
• Province of B.C. — Bill 25 introduction release
• DCC Now — What Bill 44 Does
• Public hearings and OCP changes

General public information, not legal advice. Check the current Act, regulations, and the specific Delta file before drawing conclusions.