What records explain multiplexes, garden suites and laneway suites at a Toronto home?
Zoning By-law 569-2013 as amended: the multiplex permissions, the garden suite and laneway suite rules, and the City's interactive zoning map that shows which by-law a lot sits under.
Sources checked October 16, 2026
The rule in Toronto
Up to 4 homes on a lot
Toronto zoning by-law 569-2013 as amended by 474-2023: permits up to 4 homes in a house (a multiplex) in residential zones citywide since May 2023; garden suites (By-law 101-2022, updated 849-2025) and laneway suites (By-law 1210-2019) are permitted under their own rules.
From Toronto by-law 569-2013 as amended by 474-2023, checked 5 Oct 2026
- The recordMultiplexes, garden and laneway suites
- Where to read itMultiplex housing; Garden suites and 1 more
- The free check reads itPick “Extra units allowed”
What the record shows
The City's multiplex page says four-unit multiplexes are permitted city-wide, and that since Council's decision of June 2025 the zoning permits up to six units in the Toronto and East York district and in Ward 23, with six-unit permissions elsewhere varying by location. Garden suites, a detached unit in a rear yard, are permitted in most residential zones under By-law 101-2022 and its 2025 update; a lot that backs onto a public lane follows the laneway suite rules instead.
The City's interactive zoning map shows the zone for a lot and whether it is covered by By-law 569-2013 or still by a former municipality's by-law, which the garden suite rules don't reach. A general permission does not make an existing basement apartment lawful, and every new unit still needs a building permit.
Where to read it yourself
- Multiplex housing: the City's page on multiplex permissions, with the by-laws
- Garden suites: the City's page on garden suite rules and zones
- Zoning By-law interactive map: the zone and by-law for any lot
What OfferDue covers in Toronto
Extra units allowed is in the free check as a summary of the City's rule, from our hand-kept table of city rules, and the full report adds the zoning line for the lot. Neither is confirmation that a particular unit holds a permit or may be occupied.
Free check: pick “Extra units allowed” See the sample report
Public-record information, not legal, financial, insurance or inspection advice. Records change and can be incomplete, and this page describes the records, not any particular home. What we cover, city by city.