Toronto permits up to six residential units as-of-right in nine wards: the Toronto and East York district, roughly the area south of Eglinton from Roncesvalles to the Beaches, plus Ward 23 (Scarborough North), which piloted the permission earlier. Council's June 2025 decision included an opt-in path for the other 16 wards, but as of mid-2026 no additional ward has opted in, so the as-of-right ceiling elsewhere remains four units under the city-wide multiplex by-law. In January 2026, CMHC found the limited rollout non-compliant with Toronto's Housing Accelerator Fund agreement and reduced its funding by $10 million.
The sixplex is legal in Toronto, but only in some of Toronto. Council's compromise permits six units as-of-right in nine wards and holds the rest of the city at four, with an opt-in mechanism that has so far gone unused. For a builder, that makes the first question on any multiplex site a ward boundary question, because the same lot two streets apart can carry a 50 percent difference in permitted units.
| Area | As-of-right ceiling | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto and East York district (8 wards) | Up to 6 units | June 2025 Council decision, roughly south of Eglinton, Roncesvalles to the Beaches |
| Ward 23, Scarborough North | Up to 6 units | Earlier pilot, west of Midland to Morningside, south of Highway 401 |
| All other wards (16) | Up to 4 units | City-wide multiplex by-law under EHON |
| Any ward, via opt-in | Up to 6 units if adopted | Councillor-initiated opt-in; none adopted as of mid-2026 |
The nine eligible wards cover the neighbourhoods where small-lot, streetcar-era housing stock makes conversions most viable: Cabbagetown, Leslieville, Riverdale, Parkdale, the Annex, and the rest of the old city core, plus the Scarborough North pilot area. Outside those wards, the fourplex remains the ceiling without a rezoning or variance.
Not sure which side of a ward boundary your site sits on, or what else the zoning triggers? PreBuildIQ checks any Toronto address in 60 seconds.
Check my site →The six-unit permission is a unit-count change, not an exemption from the rest of the by-law. A sixplex must still meet the residential zone's height, setback, and lot coverage standards, and the practical constraints bind quickly on narrow lots: six code-compliant units with adequate egress on a 6-metre-frontage Victorian lot is a design problem before it is a zoning one. Projects of up to six units are also exempt from City development charges, which materially improves the conversion math where the form fits.
The nine-ward compromise has a cost beyond geography. Toronto's Housing Accelerator Fund agreement with the federal government contemplated broader sixplex permissions, and on January 16, 2026, CMHC formally found the city non-compliant and cut $10 million from the agreement. The finding keeps political pressure on Council to expand the permission, and a future Council could take sixplexes city-wide in a single by-law amendment. Builders assembling sites just outside the nine wards are, in effect, holding an option on that vote.
Any councillor can bring sixplex permissions to their ward through the opt-in process. If you hold land in a ward where the councillor has signalled support, the permission can arrive faster than a rezoning would take. Track your ward's position before paying for a rezoning to six units.
Six units are as-of-right in nine wards: the eight wards of the Toronto and East York district, roughly south of Eglinton from Roncesvalles to the Beaches, plus Ward 23 (Scarborough North), which piloted the permission. Everywhere else in Toronto the as-of-right ceiling is four units unless the ward opts in, and as of mid-2026 no additional ward has.
Yes. Council's June 2025 decision created an opt-in process where a councillor can bring sixplex permissions to their ward. As of mid-2026, no ward has used it, so the eligible area remains the original nine wards. A future Council could also expand the permission city-wide by amending the by-law.
No. Developments of up to six units are exempt from City of Toronto development charges. Combined with the as-of-right zoning in the nine eligible wards, that removes both the rezoning cost and the DC line from a sixplex conversion pro forma.
Toronto's Housing Accelerator Fund agreement contemplated broader multiplex permissions than Council delivered. On January 16, 2026, CMHC formally found the nine-ward rollout non-compliant with the agreement and reduced Toronto's funding by $10 million. The finding maintains pressure on Council to expand sixplex permissions beyond the current wards.
Yes. Outside the Toronto and East York district and Ward 23, the as-of-right ceiling is four units, so a sixplex requires a zoning by-law amendment, or the ward opting in. Within the nine wards, a sixplex that meets the zone standards needs no planning application at all and proceeds to building permit.
PreBuildIQ maps any Toronto address to its unit permissions, zone standards, and approval path in 60 seconds, including whether six units are as-of-right.
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