Policy Insight
If you read about R‑CG in 2024 or 2025, most of what you read is out of date. It is no longer the default zone for Calgary homes. Here is what it is now, and who still has it.
Hello, Gorgeous! This page used to explain R‑CG as an opportunity sitting on most Calgary lots. That stopped being true on 4 August 2026, so I have rewritten it from the ground up.
R‑CG stands for Residential, Grade Oriented Infill. It is a low density district in Calgary’s Land Use Bylaw that allows rowhouses, townhouses, semi detached homes and single homes on the same kind of lot. In 2024 Calgary made it, along with two companion districts, the base zoning for most residential land. In 2026 Calgary reversed that.
How We Got Here
Two years, two councils, one reversal.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 14 May 2024 | Council approves citywide rezoning after the longest public hearing in the city’s history. |
| 6 August 2024 | Rezoning takes effect. R‑CG becomes the base zone for most established area lots. |
| 8 January 2025 | Court of King’s Bench dismisses a legal challenge to the rezoning. |
| 20 October 2025 | Municipal election. The next day, the new mayor announces plans to repeal blanket rezoning. |
| 8 April 2026 | Council approves the repeal bylaw after a public hearing. |
| 4 August 2026 | Repeal takes effect. About 99 per cent of properties return to their pre 2024 designation, and secondary suites become a permitted use in low density districts. |
Sources: City of Calgary newsroom (14 May 2024 and 8 April 2026); City of Calgary, Repeal of Citywide Rezoning; Lehodey v Calgary (City), 2025 ABKB 8; Elections Calgary.
Who Still Has R‑CG.
According to the City, a property kept its R‑CG, R‑G or H‑GO zoning if:
It already had approval. A development permit, building permit or subdivision approval under the newer zoning before the repeal took effect.
An application was already in. Submitted before the repeal bylaw’s first reading.
The owner asked for it. The owner applied to rezone the property themselves after 6 August 2024.
Separate bylaws passed in July 2026 dealt with applications made in early 2026 and with properties exempted in error. If your lot is anywhere near one of those edges, confirm it with the City rather than assuming.
Everyone else went back to what they had before: R‑C1, R‑C1L, R‑C1N, R‑C2, R‑1, R‑1N, R‑2 or R‑CGex.
What R‑CG Allows Today.
The repeal did not delete R‑CG. It still applies to the lots above, and to any lot Council rezones to it in future. But the rules inside it were tightened at the same time.
| Rule | R‑CG since 4 August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Permitted uses | Contextual single detached and semi detached dwellings, secondary suites, and rowhouse buildings that meet every district rule |
| Discretionary uses | Other single, semi detached and duplex dwellings, townhouses, cottage housing clusters, backyard suites, and rowhouses that do not meet every rule |
| Maximum height | 10 metres, down from 11 |
| Lot coverage | 45, 50 or 55 per cent depending on density, down from a 60 per cent maximum |
| Density | Up to 75 units per hectare, kept after Council considered lowering it |
| Suites | One per property, either a secondary suite or a backyard suite, not both. Backyard suites need parking again |
| Zero lot line | No longer allowed |
Sources: City of Calgary Land Use Bylaw 1P2007, Part 5, Division 11 (R‑CG), accessed September 2026; City of Calgary, Repeal of Citywide Rezoning. Parking ratios and unit counts per lot depend on the specific lot and are best confirmed with the City.
What This Means For You.
If you are buying a lot for a rowhouse or infill project. Do not take a listing’s word, and do not rely on an article from 2024, including the old version of this one. Look up the current designation of that exact parcel. If it went back to R‑C1 or R‑C2, a rowhouse now needs Council to approve a land use redesignation first, then a development permit and a building permit. That is a real process with a real cost and no guaranteed outcome.
If you are selling a lot that kept R‑CG. That is now a scarcer thing than it was a year ago. Have the proof ready: the designation, and the permit or application that preserved it. A builder will want to see it before they pay for it.
If you want a basement suite. This part got easier, not harder. Secondary suites are now a permitted use across Calgary’s low density districts, which means no discretionary review if the property meets the zoning, building, fire and safety requirements. That applies whether your lot is R‑CG or not.
Check for restrictive covenants too. Zoning is what the City allows. A restrictive covenant registered on your title is a private restriction that can limit what you build even where zoning permits more. Several Calgary communities have pursued them. Your lawyer can pull your title and tell you in a few minutes.
Zoning, covenant, permit. Three separate questions, and a lot can pass one and fail another.
How To Check Your Own Lot.
Go to the City of Calgary’s Development Map at developmentmap.calgary.ca, type in the address, and it shows the land use district. The City’s Planning Services Centre can answer questions at 403.268.5311. It takes a couple of minutes, and nobody is going to mail you a letter telling you what changed.
One Thing Still Worth Watching.
Calgary signed up for the federal Housing Accelerator Fund when it rezoned in 2024. After the repeal, Ottawa released a further payment in April 2026 but tied the final one to Calgary having zoning in place that allows at least four units on a significant majority of lots, in effect or significantly developed by 27 October 2026. What the City does about that could change the rules again, so check the current designation before you rely on anything here.
If you own in Airdrie, none of this applies to you. Airdrie runs its own rules, and under its Bylaw B‑30/2024 an accessory suite is a permitted use in many residential districts. For the Calgary suite change in more detail, read Calgary Changed The Rules On Your Lot On August 4.
One Honest Caveat
I am a REALTOR®, not a planner and not a lawyer. I can tell you what changed and what it tends to mean for value and for a sale. Whether your particular parcel qualifies for an exemption, or what a covenant on your title allows, is a question for the City and your lawyer, and I would rather send you there than guess.
Buying Or Selling Where Zoning Matters?
Tell us the address and what you are hoping to do with it. We will help you work out which questions to ask the City before you put money on it.
Zoning information is summarised from the City of Calgary and City of Airdrie as of September 2026 and is general information, not planning, legal or building code advice. Bylaws change and exemptions are property specific. Additional sources: Global News and LiveWire Calgary reporting on the repeal (October 2025 to July 2026) and the Housing Accelerator Fund (22 April 2026).
Disclaimer: This document is not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract with a brokerage.