Old Toronto: what can be built on a house lot in the former City of Toronto?

Key takeaways

• 88.43% of Old Toronto is inside the Toronto and East York area, where By-law 654-2025 allows five or six homes in a detached building.
• The parts of Old Toronto in Wards 5, 8 and 15 are outside that area, so one building there can hold four homes.
• Two zones cover the house lots: R holds 76.81% of the residential zoned land and RD holds 23.18%.
• Old Toronto has 269.23 km of public laneway, 78.38% of the city's total, and 977 issued permits for new garden or laneway suites.
• New buildings with three or more units: 99 issued permits, with 50 applied for in 2025 and 60 in 2026 to November 1.
• 34.53% of Old Toronto's land is inside a protected station area, where parking minimums stopped applying on August 15, 2025.
• Most of Old Toronto goes to the Toronto and East York panel of the Committee of Adjustment at City Hall, which lists 35 hearing dates in 2026.

What this guide covers

People in Toronto still say "Old Toronto" for the former City of Toronto. It is the city as it stood until January 1, 1998, when it merged with East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York into the Toronto of today. The old boundary still shapes what you can do with a house lot. It decides whether a lot can hold five or six homes, which City panel hears a request to split a lot, and which old zoning by-law applies where the city-wide one does not.

This guide is for two readers. One is a small builder looking for a lot. The other is an owner who has been asked, or may soon be asked, to sell to one. Both want to know the same thing: what can be built on a house lot in Old Toronto, and what is different here from the rest of the city?

Every figure below comes from a City of Toronto page, report or open data file that I read on November 1, 2026. Some figures were measured by my team from the City's own map and permit files on that date. Where that is the case, the text or the note under the table says so. The full rules for multiplexes are in my multiplex zoning guide, and this page links to it instead of repeating them.

Where is Old Toronto?

My team measured the former City of Toronto at 106.188 square kilometres, using the City's boundary file for the former municipalities. The six former cities cover 641.566 square kilometres in that file, so Old Toronto is 16.55% of the land. The boundary file may include some water inside the line, and it does not separate it.

Toronto now has 25 wards. 11 of them have 1% or more of their area inside Old Toronto. Ward 13, Toronto Centre, lies wholly inside it. Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York, has 99.58% of its area inside, and Ward 11, University-Rosedale, has 95.48%. Other wards cross the old line. Ward 19, Beaches-East York, has 49.22% of its area in Old Toronto and 48.03% in the former Borough of East York.

The City groups the 25 wards into four community council areas, each with its own set of wards. By land area, 88.43% of Old Toronto is in the Toronto and East York Community Council area, 10.11% is in the North York Community Council area, and 1.31% is in the Etobicoke York Community Council area. My team measured those shares from the City's community council boundary file. The split matters for two reasons covered below: the sixplex rule follows the Toronto and East York line, and so does the Committee of Adjustment panel that hears your application.

The City also divides Toronto into 158 official neighbourhoods. 50 of them have half or more of their land inside Old Toronto. The table lists them by the City's own number.

A short history of the former City of Toronto

The City of Toronto Archives gives these dates. Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe founded the town of York on August 27, 1793. York was incorporated as the City of Toronto on March 6, 1834. On April 15, 1953, Toronto became one of the 13 municipalities in the new Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. On January 1, 1967, Forest Hill and Swansea joined the City of Toronto. On January 1, 1998, the six remaining municipalities were merged into the new City of Toronto, and the former city became one part of it.

Those dates explain why the housing here is older than in most of the city. The 2021 Census counts covered later on this page show it: in 9 of the 11 wards that reach into Old Toronto, 35.5% or more of the occupied homes were built in 1960 or before.

How many homes can a house lot hold in Old Toronto?

Start with the sixplex rule. Since By-law 654-2025 was enacted on June 26, 2025, a detached building on one lot can hold five or six homes inside two areas of the city. One of them is the Toronto and East York Community Council area as it stood on June 26, 2025. Elsewhere, one multiplex can hold up to four homes. My multiplex zoning guide covers the height, depth, coverage and bedroom limits that then decide how many of those homes fit.

My team measured how much of Old Toronto lies inside the current Toronto and East York polygon in the City's open data: 88.43%. That is the highest share of the six former cities. So on most streets in Old Toronto, the zoning count for a detached house lot is six homes in one building.

The rest of Old Toronto is outside the by-law's area. It sits in three wards that belong to other community councils:

• 5.794 square kilometres in Ward 8, Eglinton-Lawrence, which belongs to North York Community Council.
• 4.946 square kilometres in Ward 15, Don Valley West, which also belongs to North York Community Council.
• 1.384 square kilometres in Ward 5, York South-Weston, which belongs to Etobicoke York Community Council.

On a lot in those three pieces, one building can hold four homes. The City's Considerations When Building Multiplexes page says a garden or laneway suite can sit on the same lot if its rules are met, which gives five homes.

One caution on the line itself. My team used the current community council polygon from the City's open data. We did not lay it over Diagram 2 of By-law 654-2025, which fixes the legal line. If a lot is near the edge, read Diagram 2 in the by-law itself and ask Toronto Building to confirm.

Detached houses and semi-detached houses are treated differently

In Old Toronto, the type of house on the lot also matters. The five and six unit rule applies to a detached building. By-law 654-2025 says no part of a semi-detached house or a townhouse may be converted to a fiveplex or sixplex. By-law 648-2025 caps one half of a semi-detached building at four units.

Semi-detached houses are common here. In the 2021 Census, the 50 Old Toronto neighbourhoods held 39,865 detached houses and 31,575 semi-detached houses. In two of the wards that lie mostly inside Old Toronto, semi-detached homes outnumbered detached ones: Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth, counted 9,535 semi-detached and 8,410 detached, and Ward 9, Davenport, counted 6,655 semi-detached and 6,470 detached. Those ward counts cover the whole ward, including any part outside Old Toronto.

So on a street of semi-detached pairs, each half can become a fourplex. Five or six homes need a lot with a detached building on it.

Which zones cover the house lots?

Toronto's city-wide Zoning By-law 569-2013 has five residential zones. Clause 10.5.1.10 says the letters in each zone's name show the main home type that zone allows. R is the Residential Zone. RD is the Residential Detached Zone. RS is the Residential Semi-Detached Zone, RT the Residential Townhouse Zone and RM the Residential Multiple Zone. The City's Multiplex Housing page says four-unit multiplexes are allowed in all five.

My team measured the zones inside Old Toronto from the City's zoning file. Residential zones cover 50.354 square kilometres, which is 47.42% of all the land and 68.85% of the land that has a zone in the file. R and RD hold 99.99% of it.

The R zone is the main zone in Old Toronto. It covers 76.81% of the residential zoned land, and RD covers 23.18%. RS, RT and RM each round to 0.01% or less. The City first allowed laneway suites in R zones in the Toronto and East York district, a year before it allowed them across the city. Your lot's own zone label, with its letters and numbers in brackets, is what counts. My guide to checking your lot shows how to find and read it.

The largest zone after R and RD is CR, at 9.058 square kilometres. The zoning file includes amendments up to June 18, 2023, according to its notes, so any zone change after that date is missing from these figures.

Where does the old Toronto zoning by-law still apply?

When the six cities merged, each kept its own zoning rules, and the City's Former Municipal Zoning By-laws page says some of them remain in effect today. Most properties are under the city-wide Zoning By-law 569-2013. Some may still be affected by a former by-law, in whole or in part.

In Old Toronto, that former by-law is the Former City of Toronto Zoning By-law 438-86. The City's information sheet for the former city says heights vary across the former city and are set in Appendix B of that by-law. Its residential sheet lists 1.0 parking space per dwelling unit, with parking space sizes in By-law 494-2007. Electronic copies of the original By-laws 20623 and 438-86 are on the City's By-law Status Registry. The City says hard copies are not available.

My team found that 68.87% of Old Toronto, or 73.135 square kilometres, has a 569-2013 zone in the City's zoning file. The other 31.13%, or 33.053 square kilometres, has none. That remainder holds streets and water as well as land that 569-2013 does not cover, and the file does not separate them. So the figure cannot tell you whether one lot is covered. On the City's interactive zoning map, a lot still under a former by-law shows in grey. If yours is grey, ask Toronto Building at 416-397-5330 which by-law applies before you count on any city-wide rule.

Laneway and garden suites

A laneway suite is a separate small home at the back of a lot that faces a public lane. A garden suite is the same kind of home on a lot with no lane behind it. A lot that shares a property line with a public lane can take a laneway suite. Both count as one extra home on top of the house or the multiplex.

Old Toronto has more public lanes than the rest of the city combined. My team measured the City's street centreline file and found 269.23 km of public laneway inside Old Toronto. The whole city has 343.48 km, so Old Toronto holds 78.38% of it. The other five former cities together hold 74.25 km. Inside Old Toronto there are 2.535 km of lane for every square kilometre of land. For comparison, the same file shows 643.8 km of local streets here, so there are 41.82 km of lane for every 100 km of local street.

The rules started here. The City's Changing Lanes page says Council allowed laneway suites in R zones in the Toronto and East York District on June 28, 2018. It extended them to the R, RD, RS, RT and RM zones across the city on July 16, 2019.

How many suite permits has Old Toronto had?

My team counted building permits for a new garden or laneway suite in the City's two permit files, active and cleared. We linked each permit to the City's address file by its exact address ID, and used that address's former city to place it. The permit field does not separate garden suites from laneway suites, so the counts below cover both.

Old Toronto has 977 issued suite permits. Another 114 were applied for and not yet issued, and 185 were cancelled, refused or abandoned. City-wide, 1,938 issued suite permits could be matched to one of the six former cities, so Old Toronto holds 50.41% of them. The cleared file starts in 2017, so a suite permitted and closed before 2017 is not counted. Applications rose from 66 in 2019 to 241 in 2025, and 207 were filed in 2026 up to November 1.

What City staff heard from consultants

On September 23, 2024, as part of the City's garden suite review, the consultant Gladki Planning Associates interviewed City staff. Its May 2025 report records what staff said, so treat these as staff views. In Ward 11, staff said applicants are often confused about through lots, which are lots that touch a street or lane at both ends, and about whether a project is a laneway suite or a garden suite. In Ward 12, they said consultants usually act for the homeowners. They noted limited activity in University-Rosedale and in Ward 10.

The same report counted tree permit applications tied to garden suites. The wards with the most were Ward 19, Beaches-East York, with 8 applications and 25% issued, Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park, with 6 and 17% issued, and Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth, with 5 and 60% issued. Those three wards all cross into Old Toronto. Check the trees on a lot early. The site screening guide covers the tree rules.

Multiplex permits in Old Toronto

The City's Multiplex Monitoring Program counted building permits issued for multiplexes of two to four units between May 12, 2023 and November 2024. It found 452 across the city. The report breaks them down by ward. The table below shows the eight wards of the Toronto and East York district. These are whole-ward counts from the City's report, so Ward 14 and Ward 19 include their parts outside Old Toronto, and the parts of Old Toronto in Wards 5, 8 and 15 are left out.

Together these eight wards had 251 of the 452 permits, or 55.53%. Ward 9, Davenport, had 68, more than any other ward in the city. Ward 13, Toronto Centre, had 1. In the 2021 Census, 85.2% of the homes in Ward 13 were in buildings of five or more storeys. The City's report reviewed social services in Ward 9 because multiplexes clustered there. It listed Ward 9 as medium priority for child care, with 30 to 39 percent of children aged 0 to 4 served.

These counts end before By-law 654-2025 allowed fiveplexes and sixplexes. To see what came after, my team counted permits for new buildings with three or more units, using the same address method as the suite counts.

Old Toronto has 99 issued permits for a new building with three or more units. Another 31 were applied for and not yet issued, and 18 were cancelled, refused or abandoned. 50 of these permits were applied for in 2025 and 60 in 2026 up to November 1. From 2016 to 2024, the total was 38. City-wide, 442 issued permits of this kind could be matched to a former city, so Old Toronto holds 22.4% of them.

Two limits apply to these counts. A house converted into a multiplex is filed as a small residential project, and those are left out. The permit files also have no field that marks a fiveplex or sixplex, so the table cannot split the buildings by unit count.

Ravines, heritage districts and secondary plans

Three kinds of City rule can add to the zoning in Old Toronto. Each can add a permit or a study to a project.

Ravine land

The City's Ravine and Natural Feature Protection by-law covers land in and near ravines, and work inside that area needs extra City permits. My team measured 8.912 square kilometres of Old Toronto inside it, which is 8.39% of the land. The City's open data file is from 2019, so the current map may differ. Check the address on the City's map, and see the site screening guide for what the permits cover.

Heritage conservation districts

A heritage conservation district is an area that Council protects for its history. Each designated district has its own Council by-law, listed in the table. Read that by-law and the district's plan before you design. Old Toronto holds 30 districts, counting each one with half or more of its area inside, from the City's open data file dated June 23, 2026.

Most of these are designated, with a by-law number. The file lists The Junction Phase I and West Annex Phase II as under study, and West Queen West as under appeal. It gives no designation date for Cabbagetown Southwest, Kensington Market, Parkdale Main Street, West Queen West, The Junction Phase I or West Annex Phase II, and we did not check the City's heritage register for those. A lot outside a district can still be on the City's heritage register on its own, so check the address as well.

Secondary plans

A secondary plan is a more detailed City plan for one part of the city, with its own policies on top of the Official Plan. 19 secondary plans have half or more of their area inside Old Toronto: Yonge-St. Clair, Fort York Neighbourhood, Garrison Common North, King-Parliament, King-Spadina, Railway Lands East, Railway Lands Central, Railway Lands West, University of Toronto St George Campus, Yonge-Eglinton, Swansea, Davenport Village, Regent Park, Central Waterfront, Queen-River, Rail Deck Park, the Downtown Plan, Unilever Precinct and Keele-St.Clair. If a lot is inside one, read that plan's policies on low-rise homes before you plan the building.

Station areas and transit

The province has approved 120 areas around subway, GO and LRT stations where the City must plan for more homes. The City's page describes each one as the land within 500 to 800 metres of a station, which it calls a 10 minute walk. The City calls them Major Transit Station Areas, or MTSAs. Some are Protected Major Transit Station Areas, or PMTSAs, which are the ones where the City can apply its affordable housing rule for larger buildings. In August 2025 the Minister approved the Official Plan changes for all 120, and the City says that decision is final and cannot be appealed.

My team measured 36.671 square kilometres of Old Toronto inside a station area, which is 34.53% of its land. All of it is inside the protected type. 18.739 square kilometres of the residential zoned land is inside one, which is 37.21% of the residential zoned land. 61 station areas have 1% or more of their land in Old Toronto.

What the City says will change near stations, and what has changed

For land the Official Plan calls Neighbourhoods inside a station area, the City's page says the zoning must be updated to allow homes in buildings up to 6 storeys within 200 metres of a station and on Major Streets, and up to 4 storeys in the rest of the station area. Those permissions were still missing from the zoning by-law on the page's date, June 30, 2026. The page says the timeline for bringing that zoning to Council will be set once staff finish an updated work plan. That follows Bill 98, which received Royal Assent on June 2, 2026, and direction from the Planning and Housing Committee on June 11, 2026.

Two things have already changed. Since August 15, 2025, minimum parking requirements no longer apply inside station areas, though accessible parking is still required. The City's affordable housing rule for larger buildings in protected station areas, called inclusionary zoning, is paused in Toronto until July 1, 2027 by Ontario Regulation 15/26. Major Streets rules are a separate set, covered in my Major Streets guide.

Two transit lines matter here. Metrolinx says construction is underway on the Ontario Line, a 15.6 km line with 15 stations from Exhibition Place through downtown to Line 5 at Don Mills Road. The TTC began an introductory service period on Line 5 Eglinton on February 8, 2026, and extended train hours from April 5, 2026. I did not find an opening date for the Ontario Line on the Metrolinx page.

Who lives in Old Toronto

The 2021 Census gives two ways to describe Old Toronto. The first sums the 50 neighbourhoods listed above. Neighbourhood lines and the old city line differ where a neighbourhood is split, so the sum is an estimate of Old Toronto built from whole neighbourhoods. My team added up the City's Neighbourhood Profiles for those 50 neighbourhoods.

The 50 neighbourhoods held 823,930 people in 421,735 occupied homes. Detached houses were 9.5% of those homes, against 23.29% across the city. Apartments in buildings of five or more storeys were 55.8%. 57.0% of households rented, against 48.06% city-wide. So most people here live in apartments, and detached and semi-detached houses together are 17.0% of the homes. Those houses are the lots this guide is about.

The second way uses the City's Ward Profiles. These cover whole wards, including any part outside Old Toronto, so read them as ward figures.

The wards differ. In Ward 10 and Ward 13, the two downtown wards, detached and semi-detached houses are each under 1.1% of homes. In Ward 19 and Ward 14, they are 42.5% and 38.8% together. Ward 14 has the oldest homes: 60.5% were built in 1960 or before. The City median household income in 2020 was $84,000. Ward 15 had the highest median of these wards, at $102,000, and Ward 13 the lowest, at $65,000.

Who hears a lot split or a variance in Old Toronto?

The Committee of Adjustment is the City panel that rules on minor variances, which are small exceptions to the zoning, and on consents, which divide a lot or move a property line. Toronto has four district panels. My severance and minor variance guide covers the tests, fees and appeal rules.

Most of Old Toronto goes to the Toronto and East York panel. It hears Wards 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 19. The City's schedule page lists 35 hearing dates in 2026, from January 14 to December 16, in committee rooms at Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West. Hearings are held in person and by Webex. The district office answers at 416-392-7565 and coa.tey@toronto.ca.

The parts of Old Toronto in Ward 8 and Ward 15 go to the North York panel, at 416-395-6446 and coa.ny@toronto.ca. The part in Ward 5 goes to the Etobicoke York panel, at 416-394-8060 and coa.ey@toronto.ca.

If you want to comment on a neighbour's application, the City's page says written comments are due by 4:30 p.m. five business days before the hearing. To speak by phone or Webex, register online by 4:30 p.m. two business days before. An applicant has five minutes to present and five to reply.

Across the city, the Multiplex Monitoring report found 290 minor variance applications for duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes between May 2023 and April 2025. 72% were approved, 10% refused, and 18% were under review or deferred.

What this means if you own a house in Old Toronto

A builder who looks at a detached house in Old Toronto inside the 88.43% sees a lot where the zoning allows six homes in one building. A family buyer sees the house. Both views are real, and you should know the builder's before you set a price.

Check four facts about your lot. Is it inside the Toronto and East York area or in the Ward 5, 8 or 15 pieces? Is the house detached or one half of a semi? Does the lot share a line with a public lane? Is it in a ravine area, a heritage district or a secondary plan? My guide to checking your lot shows how to look these up at home.

If your house is half of a semi, your lot alone can hold up to four units. A builder may ask your neighbour too. My guide on selling with your neighbours covers how that works. To see how a builder turns the count into a price, read how builders price land.

What this means if you build in Old Toronto

Most of the land allows six homes in a detached building. On those lots, the count is set by the lot size, the bedroom cap, the trees, and whether a former by-law or a heritage district applies. Run each through my site screening guide before you make an offer.

Plan for the lane. Old Toronto holds 78.38% of the city's public lanes. On a fourplex lot next to a lane, a laneway suite can add a fifth home. The City pages I read do not say whether a sixplex lot can add a suite, so ask Toronto Building in writing before you count one.

Plan for the Committee of Adjustment calendar. The Toronto and East York panel lists more hearing dates in 2026 than any other district, and you will use it for most variances here. Then test the numbers in my feasibility guide.

Questions to ask about an Old Toronto lot

• Is the lot inside the Toronto and East York area under By-law 654-2025, or in the part of Old Toronto in Ward 5, 8 or 15?
• Is the building on it detached, semi-detached or a townhouse?
• Does the lot share a property line with a public lane?
• Does the zoning map show the lot in grey, under By-law 438-86?
• Is the lot inside a ravine area, a heritage conservation district or a secondary plan?
• Is it inside a station area, and how far is it from the station?

Before you ask what the house next door sold for, ask a better question: what could your lot in Old Toronto become?

Frequently asked questions

What area does Old Toronto cover?

Old Toronto is the former City of Toronto, which became part of the amalgamated City on January 1, 1998. My team measured its boundary in the City's open data at 106.188 square kilometres. It reaches into 11 of today's 25 wards, and 50 of the City's 158 official neighbourhoods have half or more of their area inside it, from The Beaches and Riverdale to Roncesvalles, the Annex and Lawrence Park.

Can I build a sixplex on a house lot in Old Toronto?

You can build a fiveplex or sixplex on most house lots in Old Toronto if the building is detached and stands on one lot. By-law 654-2025 allows five or six homes in the Toronto and East York Community Council area as it stood on June 26, 2025, and 88.43% of Old Toronto lies inside that area. Height, depth, coverage and the bedroom cap then decide how many homes fit.

Which parts of Old Toronto are outside the sixplex area?

Three parts of Old Toronto are outside the sixplex area: 5.794 square kilometres in Ward 8, Eglinton-Lawrence, and 4.946 in Ward 15, Don Valley West, which both belong to the North York Community Council, and 1.384 in Ward 5, York South-Weston, which belongs to Etobicoke York. One building there can hold up to four homes. For a lot near the line, check Diagram 2 of By-law 654-2025.

Which zones cover the house lots in Old Toronto?

Two zones cover the house lots in Old Toronto. My team measured the City's zoning file and found the R zone on 76.81% of the residential zoned land and the RD zone on 23.18%. The RS, RT and RM zones each round to 0.01% or less. Four homes in one multiplex are allowed in all five residential zones, and the sixplex rule adds five or six in a detached building.

Can a semi-detached house in Old Toronto become a sixplex?

A semi-detached house in Old Toronto cannot be converted to a fiveplex or sixplex. By-law 654-2025 bars converting any part of a semi-detached house or a townhouse to five or six units, and By-law 648-2025 caps each half of a semi at four units. This matters here, because the 2021 Census counted 31,575 semi-detached homes in Old Toronto's 50 neighbourhoods, against 39,865 detached houses.

How many public laneways does Old Toronto have?

Old Toronto has 269.23 km of public laneway, measured by my team along the lane centrelines in the City's street file. That is 78.38% of the 343.48 km of public lanes in the whole city. It works out to 2.535 km of lane for every square kilometre of land. A lot that shares a property line with a public lane can take a laneway suite under the City's rules.

How many garden and laneway suite permits has Old Toronto had?

Old Toronto has 977 issued building permits for a new garden or laneway suite, counted by my team from the City's permit files to November 1, 2026. Another 114 were applied for and not yet issued, and 185 were cancelled, refused or abandoned. The 977 are 50.41% of the 1,938 issued suite permits we could match to one of the six former cities.

How many new multiplex buildings have been permitted in Old Toronto?

Old Toronto has 99 issued building permits for a new building with three or more units, counted by my team from the City's permit files to November 1, 2026. Of all such permits applied for here, 50 were applied for in 2025 and 60 in 2026, more than the 38 from 2016 to 2024 together. Conversions of existing houses are filed under another permit type and are left out.

Which zoning by-law applies in Old Toronto where 569-2013 does not?

Where the city-wide Zoning By-law 569-2013 does not apply in Old Toronto, the former City of Toronto Zoning By-law 438-86 can still apply. The City's information sheet for the former city says heights vary and are set in Appendix B of that by-law, and lists 1.0 parking space per dwelling unit. Electronic copies of By-laws 20623 and 438-86 are on the City's By-law Status Registry.

How much of Old Toronto is near a subway or GO station?

34.53% of Old Toronto, or 36.671 square kilometres, lies inside one of the station areas the province approved around subway, GO and LRT stations, measured by my team from the City's station area file. All of it is in the protected type. 61 station areas have at least 1% of their land here. Parking minimums no longer apply inside them. The four and six storey home rules were still missing from the zoning on June 30, 2026.

Who hears minor variance and severance applications in Old Toronto?

In most of Old Toronto, the Toronto and East York panel of the Committee of Adjustment hears minor variance and severance applications, at Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West. It covers Wards 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 19 and lists 35 hearing dates in 2026. The parts in Wards 8 and 15 go to the North York panel, and the part in Ward 5 to Etobicoke York.

How many heritage conservation districts are in Old Toronto?

Old Toronto holds 30 heritage conservation districts, counting each district with half or more of its area inside, from the City's open data file dated June 23, 2026. Most are designated, such as Cabbagetown, Riverdale, Rosedale South and Wychwood Park. The Junction Phase I and West Annex Phase II were listed as under study, and West Queen West as under appeal. Check the district's by-law before you design.

What share of homes in Old Toronto are detached houses?

Detached houses were 9.5% of the occupied homes in Old Toronto in the 2021 Census: 39,865 of 421,735, summed by my team across the 50 neighbourhoods mostly inside it. Across the whole city the share was 23.29%. Apartments in buildings of five or more storeys were 55.8% of Old Toronto's homes, and 57.0% of its households rented.

Sources

1. Resources on Former Municipalities. City of Toronto Archives. Updated October 22, 2025; read November 1, 2026.
2. Former Municipal Zoning By-laws. City of Toronto. Updated April 21, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
3. Former City of Toronto Zoning Information. City of Toronto. Updated November 24, 2017; read November 1, 2026.
4. By-law 654-2025, fiveplexes and sixplexes. City of Toronto. Enacted June 26, 2025; read November 1, 2026.
5. By-law 648-2025, detached and semi-detached houseplexes. City of Toronto. Enacted June 26, 2025; read November 1, 2026.
6. Considerations When Building Multiplexes. City of Toronto. Updated June 30, 2025; read November 1, 2026.
7. Multiplex Housing. City of Toronto. Updated August 26, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
8. Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 10 Residential (office consolidation). City of Toronto. Version date July 31, 2024, with city-wide amendments up to April 30, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
9. Community Council Area Profiles. City of Toronto, City Planning. No date shown; read November 1, 2026.
10. Former Municipality Boundaries (open data). City of Toronto. Updated February 20, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
11. City Wards, 25-ward model (open data). City of Toronto. Updated February 20, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
12. Community Council Boundaries (open data). City of Toronto. Updated February 20, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
13. Neighbourhoods, 158 model (open data). City of Toronto. Updated February 20, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
14. Zoning By-law, Zoning Area layer (open data). City of Toronto. Updated February 20, 2026, with amendments up to June 18, 2023; read November 1, 2026.
15. Toronto Centreline (TCL), Version 2 (open data). City of Toronto. Updated October 30, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
16. Changing Lanes: Laneway Suites in Toronto. City of Toronto. Updated February 29, 2024; read November 1, 2026.
17. Building Permits, Active Permits (open data). City of Toronto. Updated November 1, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
18. Building Permits, Cleared Permits since 2017 (open data). City of Toronto. Updated November 1, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
19. Address Points (Municipal), Toronto One Address Repository (open data). City of Toronto. Updated October 30, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
20. Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods: Multiplex Monitoring Program, Final Report. City of Toronto, City Planning. Dated May 29, 2025; read November 1, 2026.
21. Multiplex Monitoring, Attachment 4: Data, Figures, and Findings. City of Toronto, City Planning. 2025; read November 1, 2026.
22. Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods: Garden Suites Monitoring Program, Final Report. City of Toronto, City Planning. Dated June 27, 2025; read November 1, 2026.
23. Garden Suites Zoning By-law Review and Monitoring Report (Attachment 4). Gladki Planning Associates for City of Toronto City Planning. Dated May 2025; read November 1, 2026.
24. Ravine and Natural Feature Protection Area (open data). City of Toronto. Updated July 23, 2019; read November 1, 2026.
25. Heritage Conservation Districts (open data). City of Toronto. File dated June 23, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
26. Secondary Plans (open data). City of Toronto. Updated March 16, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
27. Minister-Approved Major Transit Station Areas (open data). City of Toronto. File dated January 2026, updated February 3, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
28. Zoning for Major Transit Station Areas. City of Toronto. Updated June 30, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
29. Ontario Line. Metrolinx. No date shown; read November 1, 2026.
30. TTC to begin phased start to service on Line 5 Eglinton. Toronto Transit Commission. Dated February 3, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
31. Line 5 Eglinton train service to run later starting Sunday. Toronto Transit Commission. Dated April 3, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
32. Ward Profiles (25-Ward Model), 2021 Census (open data). City of Toronto, City Planning, from Statistics Canada. Prepared December 2023, updated July 22, 2024; read November 1, 2026.
33. Neighbourhood Profiles, 2021 Census (open data). City of Toronto, from Statistics Canada. Updated May 27, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
34. Committee of Adjustment: Toronto and East York Schedule. City of Toronto. Updated October 16, 2026; read November 1, 2026.
35. Committee of Adjustment contact information. City of Toronto. No date shown; read November 1, 2026.
36. Participate at a Hearing. City of Toronto. Updated December 3, 2025; read November 1, 2026.

Planning and development potential is property-specific and subject to zoning, approvals, site conditions, municipal review and other due diligence. This guide gives general information. For legal, tax or financial advice, ask your own lawyer and accountant.