2.3K 
Throughout October UrbanToronto is featuring a special State of Housing 2026 editorial series to examine the pressing housing challenges facing Toronto and the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
* * *
During the turbulent times of the last eighteen months, Canada, at federal, provincial and local levels, has been seized by a ‘get things done’ mindset. Whether it’s eliminating interprovincial trade barriers, increasing labour mobility or getting shovels in the ground on major projects, the focus on speeding things up across the board has been noticeable, and perhaps nowhere more so than when it comes to housing.
From the new Build Canada Homes initiative from the government of Canada, which aims to build more affordable homes by working with industry partners to deliver different types of housing to meet different needs and income levels, to the City of Toronto’s announcement this month it was expanding its Pre-Approved Building Plans Program by introducing pre-approved multiplex designs, providing building designs at no cost to make it easier to build more homes faster – speed has been deemed essential to get things done.
“The City’s goal was to make it easier for homeowners, builders and design professionals to add more housing in Toronto’s neighbourhoods by providing free, high-quality, near-permit-ready multiplex designs,” says Dylan Aster, Director, Policy and Strategic Support, Toronto Building. “The plans are intended to reduce upfront design work, lower costs, provide greater certainty during the permit process and help translate expanded multiplex permissions into new housing opportunities.”
These new made-in-Toronto designs build on the City’s existing pre-approved plans program for garden and laneway suites making it easier to add more homes to residential properties, giving homeowners the benefit of a headstart on the sometimes daunting and confusing design process and procedures for permits. The pre-approved designs build upon a growing trend as multiplexes, garden suites and other small infill homes make up ten times more of Toronto’s housing starts than they did just two years ago. The designs include opportunities for sustainable features, bicycle parking, waste storage and more and were developed with accessibility, climate resilience, cost and ease of construction as core considerations.
LGA Architectural Partners, who have a long history of working with the city in their 35-year history and have a passion for public sector housing, won the commission through a city RFP process to collaboratively create the designs and develop a catalogue of pre-approved plans for four-and-six-unit multiplexes tailored to the city’s specific zoning and lot types. The initial work also focused on identifying lots in the city which could accommodate the specific designs to maximize usage and complement existing initiatives.
“It’s important to note how innovative this program is that the City has initiated as the new designs will make it faster and easier to add more homes in the city,” says Janna Levitt, Partner at LGA. “However, the program also de-risks the initiative for the end user (the professional or citizen-led developer), by providing all the information necessary to very quickly assess if the site under consideration is compatible with the chosen design. It also reduces the upfront cost to the end user as the entire set of drawings – architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing – are free. And finally, the pre-approved program itself gives the end user a much faster review process.”
LGA had great recent success being the National Project Manager and the Ontario Architects for the CMHC National Housing Catalogue and worked in close collaboration with the City so that everyone could bring their expertise to the development of the design. This was especially important given some of the characteristics of lot sizes in the city.
“What is unique in Toronto, in comparison to most other cities in Canada, is the diversity of lot sizes as we go from the old city to the pre-war inner suburbs to the postwar inner and outer suburbs,” explains Levitt. “In addition, that range is at the small end of average lot sizes compared to other Canadian cities. That difference lends a specificity to the characteristics and the way in which people sited housing.”
Since multiplex permissions were expanded in 2023, Toronto has seen the construction of 2,119 new multiplex buildings, creating 3,371 housing units. These figures reflect only newly constructed multiplex buildings and do not include housing units created through conversions or additions to existing buildings. During the same period, 321 new four-to-six-unit residential buildings were also completed, contributing more than 1,100 additional housing units.
“The City has already expanded permissions for multiplex housing and the next step is helping people act on those permissions,” says Aster. “Success will be reflected in whether the program makes it easier for homeowners and builders to move from permission to construction. This gives them more choice and greater certainty in creating new housing options across Toronto’s neighbourhoods.”
Aster continued to emphasize the City’s accelerated pace to ‘get things done’ in housing. “The pre-approved plans program is about removing barriers to housing creation,” he says. “By providing free, high-quality, made-in-Toronto designs and simplifying the path to a building permit, the City is giving homeowners and builders practical tools to help add more housing.”
* * *
UrbanToronto's research and data service, UTPro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe—from proposal through to completion. Other services include Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
* * *
Thank you to the companies joining UrbanToronto to celebrate State of Housing Month 2026.
