Toronto property owners looking to add homes to their lots can now start from a set of drawings the City is offering for free.
The City has announced four multiplex designs for its Pre-Approved Building Plans Program, which already offered plans for garden and laneway suites. The new plans include two fourplexes and two sixplexes, each drawn for either a narrow or a wide lot.
LGA Architectural Partners won the City's RFP to design them, with accessibility, climate resilience, cost and ease of construction among the stated priorities.
According to the City, the program lines up with Toronto's expanded multiplex zoning permissions. A fourplex is allowed anywhere in the city today, while sixplex permissions depend on where the property is located. An owner whose multiplex fits the zoning rules can go straight to a building permit application, with no stop at the Committee of Adjustment.
The pre-approval covers the building as designed. The City has confirmed each one meets the Ontario Building Code and the zoning rules that govern its design. Where it sits on a particular lot, and anything else specific to that site, will be reviewed on submission of the permit application.
Narrow Fourplex (City of Toronto)
Wide Sixplex - Side View (City of Toronto)
In terms of process, owners aren't required to submit the pre-approved drawing to get things rolling — they should enter the plan number on the Application to Construct or Demolish form, and reference their chosen HVAC type in the application; the fourplexes come in electric, gas and hybrid versions, and the sixplexes in electric and hybrid.
Site-specific work — mechanical, HVAC and plumbing, and architectural and structural components — falls to qualified design professionals, details of which the City will require in writing. Any modification, including to HVAC or plumbing, voids the plan's pre-approved status, and the owner can apply through the City's regular permit process instead.
The plans can be downloaded at toronto.ca/PreApprovedPlans.
