Green rolling pasture with a white board fence at the rural edge of Metro Vancouver, tall firs and cedars and steep forested mountains rising behind.
City of Surrey, British Columbia Metro Vancouver

Barndominium Builders in Surrey, British Columbia

Surrey holds two very different kinds of land, and which one you buy decides what a barndominium can be. Most of the city is residential lots, where a steel-clad or post-frame house is drawn to the lot's zone and built under a City building permit. The rest is farmland in the Agricultural Land Reserve, where the provincial reserve and Surrey's own agricultural zones limit how many homes a parcel may hold and where on the lot the house and its workshop may stand. For many buyers that farmland is the whole reason to look at Surrey, so the rules belong in the plan before an offer goes in. Post-frame homes and steel-frame barndominiums both suit a wide open plan with a shop bay under the same roof, and a custom plan fits that plan to the parcel's footprint and setback limits. We build in Surrey from our Calgary base. Send the address through the survey and we will check the zone, the reserve status and the servicing before any drawing starts.

Surrey at a glance

Municipality
City, Metro Vancouver Regional District
Population
568,322 (2021 Census); 703,531 (July 2025 estimate)
Building permit
City building office
Land and acreage
City land and rural land; acreage in City of Surrey
Wastewater
Health authority filing
Water
Municipal water
Tell us about your land

Barndominium Builders Near Surrey

From a turnkey build to a shell you finish yourself, the work starts with the parcel: the access, the building pad, the route to a sewer or a private sewage system, and the water source. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so each option is priced against your land rather than a rate card.

Turnkey Builds

Turnkey barndominiums in Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC: one team from bare land and permits to a finished, inspected house, water and septic planned in.

Custom Plans

Custom barndominium plans for Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC: floor plans and permit drawings drawn for your parcel, your loads and your municipality.

Site Preparation

Barndominium site preparation in Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC: clearing, grading, drainage, access and the building pad, planned around well and septic.

Permitting

Barndominium permits in Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC: development and building permits, trade permits, septic, and who issues each one.

Post-Frame and Steel-Frame Barndominiums Near Surrey

A post-frame home, often called a pole barn home, sets its frame on widely spaced posts and suits a wide, simple layout with a shop bay under the same roof. A steel-frame barndominium uses a bolted steel frame, and an RTM (ready-to-move) home is built off site and moved to the land. Which one fits comes down to the land use rules, the site and the design values for your location.

Post-Frame Homes

Post-frame and pole barn homes in Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC: a wide-open shop and a house on one column-and-truss frame, built as a real home.

Steel Construction

Steel-frame barndominiums and metal building homes in Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC: clear-span frames for a shop and a house, finished for winter.

RTM Homes

RTM homes in Alberta and Saskatchewan: ready-to-move barndominiums built in our yard, moved to your land and set on the foundation built there.

Shouses

Shop houses (shouses) in Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC: a working shop and a home under one roof, planned around the land use bylaw, water and septic.

Building a Barndominium in Surrey: Permits, Land Use, Sewage and Water

On acreage the land use, sewage and water answers often come before the building answer. Here is who decides each part in Surrey, taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so check them again against your parcel before anything is drawn.

Who issues the building permit City building office

City of Surrey Planning and Development (Single Family Dwelling Permit)

Building a new single family dwelling in Surrey requires a City building permit. Only complete applications are accepted: the application form and checklist, a Homeowner Protection Office builder or owner-builder form, a current title search, and one set of plans signed and sealed by a registered professional.

Source: Single Family Dwelling Permit, City of Surrey (surrey.ca)

Who decides the land use City and rural landAgricultural Land Reserve inside the boundary

City of Surrey Zoning By-law; Agricultural Land Reserve on Surrey farmland

The City of Surrey's Zoning By-law decides what each lot may hold, and part of the city lies in the Agricultural Land Reserve, a provincial zone where farming is the priority use and homes are restricted. On a reserve parcel in Surrey, one single family dwelling is permitted, and it may contain one secondary suite. A second permanent home is possible only when it is needed for farm help, after an Agricultural Land Commission application referred by Council and a rezoning.

Source: Building a House on the Agricultural Land Reserve, City of Surrey (surrey.ca)

Sewer or private sewage Health authority

Fraser Health (Health Protection, onsite sewerage systems)

Where a Surrey parcel has no sewer connection, the house needs an onsite sewerage system. An authorized person, meaning a registered onsite wastewater practitioner or a professional, files a record of sewerage system with Fraser Health before the system is built, altered or repaired, then files a letter of certification once the work is finished.

Source: Resources for onsite sewerage systems property owners and authorized persons, Fraser Health (fraserhealth.ca)

Where the water comes from Municipal water

City of Surrey water utility (supply from the Greater Vancouver Water District)

Surrey buys its water from the Greater Vancouver Water District: rain and snowmelt held in three reservoirs on the Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam rivers, treated by Metro Vancouver, then carried through the City's own distribution network. A farm parcel beyond that network relies on a well, and groundwater for household use may be drawn without a water licence, in accordance with the provincial regulations.

Source: City of Surrey Water System Annual Report for 2024 (surrey.ca)

Code climate values for Surrey (88 Ave & 156 St.)
Ground snow load (Ss)
2.4 kPa
Rain load (Sr)
0.3 kPa
Hourly wind pressure, 1 in 50
0.44 kPa
January design temperature (2.5%)
-8 °C
Heating degree-days below 18 °C
2,750

The values the code table lists for Surrey (88 Ave & 156 St.). The designer confirms the values for your actual site.

Source: BC Building Code 2024 (web version, revision 2), Government of British Columbia (British Columbia Building Code 2024, Division B, Appendix C, Table C-2; www2.gov.bc.ca)

Surrey's General Agriculture zone (A-1)
In the A-1 General Agriculture Zone of the Surrey Zoning By-law (consolidated to September 21, 2026), a lot may hold one single family dwelling, which may contain one secondary suite. The house and its accessory farm residential facilities, including garages, the driveway and residential-related workshops, must fit a farm residential footprint of no more than 2,000 sq. m that reaches no deeper than 60 m from the front lot line.

Source: Surrey Zoning By-law No. 12000 (consolidation), City of Surrey (surrey.ca)

Septic and well papers for a rural Surrey lot
Surrey's single family dwelling permit lists Fraser Health septic approval, and proof of well water potability and quantity from a registered hydrogeologist, among the documents to include where they apply.

Source: Single Family Dwelling Permit, City of Surrey (surrey.ca)

Building on Land Near Surrey

Surrey farmland looks roomy on a map, yet the rules on it are tighter than the parcel size suggests. Inside the Agricultural Land Reserve the provincial cap applies: one residence, a principal residence of no more than 500 m² of total floor area, and attached garages left out of that figure only up to 42 m² in total, so a big shop joined to the house counts toward the limit. More than 1,000 m² of fill for the house, its foundations and the driveway needs Agricultural Land Commission approval. The A-1 zone then fixes where on the lot the house and yard may sit. Off the city systems, budget time for a filed onsite sewerage system and a hydrogeologist's well report. Our legal guide sets out the reserve rules in full.

Other places in this region

Metro Vancouver

Barndominium builders across British Columbia

Have land in or near Surrey? Tell us about the parcel and what you want on it, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.

Start your build survey (825) 465-3825

Building in Surrey: questions

Start the survey
How much does it cost to build a barndominium in Surrey?
In Surrey the parcel drives the budget almost as much as the steel or timber frame does. A serviced residential lot and a farm parcel with a filed septic system, a well report and limits on fill are different projects even with the same floor plan, so a useful number comes from the actual property. For sourced ranges and the factors behind them, read our barndominium cost guide.
Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Surrey?
Yes. A barndominium you live in is a single family dwelling, and Surrey requires a City building permit to build one. The application has to be complete when it goes in, with plans sealed by a registered professional and the Homeowner Protection Office form for the builder or owner-builder. On a farm lot, Fraser Health septic approval and a well water report may also be required.
Can I build a house with a big attached shop on Surrey farmland?
Carefully. On land in the Agricultural Land Reserve, the principal residence is capped at 500 m² of total floor area, and attached garage space is excluded only up to 42 m², so most of a large attached shop counts as house. Surrey's A-1 zone also keeps the house, garages and residential workshops inside a 2,000 sq. m footprint near the road. A custom plan sizes the building to both limits from the start.
Is a farm lot in Surrey on city water or a well?
Lots on the City network get Metro Vancouver water from the Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam reservoirs. A farm parcel off the network usually needs a well, and Surrey can ask for a registered hydrogeologist's proof that the well water is drinkable and sufficient before it issues the house permit.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Surrey allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced price ranges and what moves the number on your land.

Read it

Can You Build a Barndominium in Canada?

Permits, licensing, warranty, land use, sewage and water in Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

From parcel to move-in, and how the winter sets the clock.

Read it

Sources for this page

The published pages behind the Surrey facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Other places near Surrey

Nearby places with their own pages. Across a municipal boundary the permit office, the land use bylaw, the sewage rules and the water source can change, so each is covered separately.

Township of Langley

British Columbia
Delta

British Columbia
New Westminster

British Columbia
Abbotsford

British Columbia

Building in Surrey?

Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which offices decide it, what the land use rules allow, and a plan to fit.

Start the survey