Tall & Urban News

The City of Toronto is moving forward with a broad set of planning reforms aimed at significantly increasing housing supply, with six staff reports set for review at the Planning and Housing Committee meeting to be held on Thursday, 12 June 2025. The changes are part of the City’s effort to help meet the provincial target of 285,000 new homes by 2031 and are supported by the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.

Key proposals include citywide zoning amendments to permit five- and six-unit multiplexes, building on previous fourplex permissions and pilot sixplex projects. These reforms, part of the Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) program, would allow both new builds and conversions in all residential areas. A City bulletin estimates EHON could generate up to 54,600 new homes by 2031, and 163,785 by 2051.

Mid-rise housing is also in focus, with the next phase of the Avenues Policy Review aiming to implement as-of-right zoning for six- to eleven-storey buildings along Toronto’s major corridors. The citywide consultation process is underway.

Apartment tower sites could see added density through a proposed zoning change enabling townhouses and adaptive reuse of interior spaces like storage rooms. About 5,000 Residential Apartment Commercial-zoned properties would be affected.

To standardize Toronto’s planning framework, the City also plans to integrate more properties—starting with 137 in North York—into Zoning By-law 569-2013. This would align them with recent multiplex permissions.

Toronto’s housing development pipeline is at a record high, with over 850,000 units proposed across 2,335 projects. From 2020 to 2024, Toronto accounted for half of all completed homes in the Greater Toronto Area. A new strategy for unlocking development on City-owned land is also in progress.

“These changes will help accelerate the construction of new homes and support complete communities across Toronto,” noted Mayor Olivia Chow.

Learn more at Urban Toronto.