07/10/2025
Changes have been made withim the city of Toronto to make creating a laneway or garden suite much easier. Take a look at these preapproved plans. Would you build one?
Building new housing in Toronto just got easier. To support the growth of “missing middle housing,” we’re making it cheaper and faster to build laneway and garden suites, secondary suites, and more. We’re providing three ways to make this happen:
📐Providing free, pre-approved building plans for garden and laneway suites. These "Made in Toronto” plans include architectural and mechanical drawings for studio and two-bedroom suites. This cuts costs for residents looking to add more housing units on their property.
🔒Expanding the Reliance on Professional Engineer’s Seal program to speed up the permitting process for new and existing houses, including renovations and additions, by allowing professional engineers to confirm that their work meets Ontario Building Code requirements.
💻 Expanding online services for building permit applications to enable online, self-service submissions for additional residential units, including multiplex conversions, secondary suites and garden and laneway suites. This provides a smooth customer experience, helps get people building sooner, and accelerates the delivery of new homes.
We’re committed to modernizing services to support the delivery of new housing across the city. These initiatives address the housing crisis by improving the processes and technology that make housing happen.
https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-of-toronto-taking-steps-to-reduce-design-costs-and-speed-up-building-permit-approvals/
