R3-1 Zoning in NYC: FAR, Height and Setbacks

R3-1 allows one- and two-family houses, detached or semi-detached, at a low-density, suburban scale.

Floor area (FAR)

• Standard maximum residential FAR: 0.75 (ZR 23-21).
• On standard lots of 4,000 sq ft or more, the floor area tied to any single home can't exceed the equivalent of 0.60 FAR (ZR 23-21, footnote 1).
• On a qualifying residential site: 1.00 FAR.
• Community facility FAR: 1.00, with lot coverage up to 60% on corner lots and 55% on interior or through lots (ZR 24-11). Some uses, such as non-profit institutions with sleeping accommodations, can have lower limits (ZR 24-111).
• FAR (floor area ratio) is total zoning floor area divided by lot area. On a 2,500 sq ft lot, 1.00 FAR means 2,500 sq ft of floor area.

Height and setbacks

• Homes use the pitched-roof envelope: perimeter walls up to 25 ft above the base plane, then sloping planes that meet at a 35 ft ridge line (ZR 23-421).
• On qualifying residential sites (and for qualifying senior housing), the limits are a 35 ft maximum base height and a 35 ft maximum building height, with a setback above the base (ZR 23-424).

Yards, lot coverage and lot size

• Front yard: 15 ft deep (ZR 23-321). On a corner lot, one front yard can be 5 ft shallower, and you can match a shallower neighboring front yard, but never less than 5 ft.
• Side yards: Detached houses need two side yards, each at least 5 ft wide (ZR 23-332). Semi-detached and zero lot line houses need one 5 ft side yard, plus an 8 ft open area between buildings where the neighbor is a one- or two-family house.
• Rear yard: On interior lots, detached and zero lot line buildings need a 20 ft rear yard up to 75 ft high. Semi-detached and attached buildings need 30 ft on lots narrower than 40 ft, and 20 ft on lots 40 ft or wider. Where a building rises above 75 ft, that portion needs 30 ft (ZR 23-342). Shallow lots that existed in 1961 can get a reduced rear yard, never under 10 ft.
• Lot coverage: For one- and two-family homes: 50% on interior and through lots, 80% on corner lots (ZR 23-361). Apartment buildings, where permitted, can cover 80% of an interior lot and 100% of a corner lot.
• Minimum lot size: 2,850 sq ft and 30 ft wide for a detached or zero lot line one- or two-family house; 1,700 sq ft and 18 ft wide for other residences where they are permitted (ZR 23-11).

What you can build in R3-1

One- and two-family houses, detached or semi-detached (ZR 22-122). On a qualifying residential site, any type of residence is permitted.

City of Yes changes

• City of Yes for Housing Opportunity (adopted December 5, 2024) added a higher tier for qualifying residential sites: 1.00 FAR here instead of 0.75, a height limit of 35 ft, and any type of residence (ZR 23-21, 23-424, 22-122).
• A qualifying residential site is, in short: a lot of at least 5,000 sq ft in the Greater Transit Zone with frontage on a wide street or the short end of a block (not in R1 or R2); or a lot with an existing community facility building (with conditions); or, in R3-2, R4, R5 and R5B, a lot with qualifying senior housing. Where residential floor area on such a site exceeds 50,000 sq ft, part of it must be affordable (ZR 12-10).
• It also allowed ancillary dwelling units (ADUs): one extra home of up to 800 sq ft per one- or two-family residence, with conditions (ZR 12-10).

R3-1 zoning FAQ

Nearby districts

• R3-2
• R3A
• R3X