Since Toronto updated its zoning bylaws in May 2023 to allow multiplex housing as-of-right, the city has been on a path toward a milestone: 1,000 multiplex project applications. At the current pace, that number is still a year or two away — but the trajectory is clear.
On paper, this is a success story in the making. The policy is working — developers, homeowners, and builders are responding to the signal that Toronto wants more housing in its neighbourhoods. Duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and sixplexes are being proposed across the city.
But behind that trajectory is a less encouraging reality: the permit process is creating years of unnecessary delay.
The Numbers Don't Add Up
When we analyzed the data on multiplex applications in Toronto, a troubling pattern emerged. The average permit timeline for a straightforward, as-of-right multiplex project — one that already complies with zoning — is stretching well beyond what the policy intended.
As the city approaches 1,000 projects, those delays will compound. By our estimate, the current pace is on track to impose over 115 years of cumulative delay on projects that should be fast-tracked by design.
This isn't a zoning problem. The zoning works. This is a process problem — permit review bottlenecks, inconsistent interpretation of building code requirements, and understaffed departments that weren't resourced for the wave of applications the policy created.
What This Means for Multiplex Housing in Toronto
Every month a multiplex project sits in permit review is a month families don't have homes. It's a month of carrying costs that make projects less viable. And it's a signal to builders that "as-of-right" doesn't actually mean what it says.
At NBRS, we've built our entire approach around navigating these realities. We target sites where we can move fast, we go into an acquisition already knowing what we're building and how we'll deliver it, and we use technology to streamline what the system doesn't.
But individual workarounds aren't enough. Toronto needs to resource its permit system to match the ambition of its zoning policy. The city opened the door to multiplex housing — now it needs to clear the path.
FAMILY 1, our first multiplex project, is scheduled for construction completion on October 15, 2026, about 18 months after acquisition, with leases beginning November 1. But it shouldn't require this much effort to build the housing a city says it wants.
Join our waitlist to follow our progress, or partner with us to build more.