Liam Gill doesn’t describe himself as a developer, but that hasn’t stopped him from carving out a place in Toronto’s development landscape. Now, the lawyer and tech entrepreneur wants to help others do the same with his Citizen Developer’s Guide, released Wednesday morning in collaboration with More Neighbours Toronto.
The guide is designed for people like Gill — those without a formal background in real estate development, but with an interest in densifying their own home or investment property. Throughout the document, Gill walks readers through how to estimate build costs, cash flow projections, and ultimate market value, and go about the zoning, permitting, and financing processes.
Gill has firsthand experience navigating Toronto’s planning and development system. In September 2024, he began what would be an almost year-long approvals process to convert a single-family home near Eglinton West station into a 10-unit apartment building. The project leverages Toronto’s Major Streets reform, which allows six storeys on designated corridors (as-of-right), and was approved by the Committee of Adjustment in December 2025.
“This guide is part of my work to solve the housing shortage,” writes Gil. “After purchasing a single-family home, when faced with the decision to renovate it and live there, just [my partner] and I, or to convert it into a 10-unit apartment building where [we] could live with nine other families, the decision was simple. When my friends who are nurses, teachers, lawyers, accountants can barely afford their rent, it felt selfish to live in a single-family home.”
Liam Gill is a lawyer and tech entrepreneur who consults with Torontonians looking to convert under-densified properties. (More Neighbours Toronto)
Beyond six storeys on Major Streets, the City also introduced as-of-right permissions for multiplexes with up to four units in all neighbourhoods in May 2023, and in June 2025, fiveplex and sixplex permissions were extended to nine wards across the city.
These zoning changes come with their caveats, however. As Gill points out in the guide, multiplex developments only qualify for commercial financing if there are at least five units on the site, which means a fourplex development would need to be supplemented by a garden suite in order to tap into a CMHC-backed program. He also explains how fiveplexes and sixplexes are restricted by Toronto lot sizes, and are expected to lend primarily to one- or two-bedroom units, rather than the three-bedroom units that families in Toronto so sorely need.
Even so, this is the ‘missing middle’ housing typology that Gill believes will be key as Toronto grapples with its housing shortage and affordability crises.
“If you own a rental condo, the proceeds from its sale can fund a 5-10 unit property development,” Gill writes. “Our city is home to numerous real estate investors who have over $750,000 in equity in rental properties. All of them have the opportunity to leverage their existing equity to create more housing units and help solve Toronto’s housing crisis.”
He makes a similar case for owner-occupiers, who may find the idea of converting their family home into a multiplex “absurd.”
“Nonetheless, if you plan to age in place, your home will likely require renovations and alterations to accommodate your changing needs. In addition, you have likely already felt the squeeze of rising property taxes and may have even thought about downsizing when your kids leave or have left the home,” says Gil. “Converting your existing house into a 5-10 unit property provides an alternative solution that (i) helps solve the housing crisis, (ii) allows you to age in place, and (iii) creates rental income to offset rising costs.”
