Glossary
Basement suite: The basement of a house is converted into a separate unit, transforming a single-family house into a multi-unit home.
Cottage court: Also referred to as bungalow court. This housing type consists of a group of small, detached structures arranged around a shared court visible from the street. Building structures are usually 1 to 2-story high.
Courtyard building: Multi-unit housing typology oriented around a courtyard or series of courtyards. Dwelling units can be side-by-side and/or stacked, the overall structure usually being 1 to 3.5-story high.
Duplex: Detached home containing two residential units, each of them having an entry from the street. The two units can be side-by-side or stacked (in the second case, the structure can fit on a smaller lot).
Fourplex: Detached home containing four residential units, with shared or separate entries from the street.
Garage conversion: The garage of a house is converted into a separate unit, transforming a single-family house into a multi-unit home.
Garden suite: Separate and detached housing unit located in the backyard of an existing house. They are generally used as an extension of the house for family members, or as rental housing units.
Live-Work: Small- to medium-sized attached or detached structure consisting of one dwelling unit above or behind a flexible ground floor space that can accommodate a range of non-residential use.
Missing middle: Range of multiunit or clustered housing types, compatible in scale with single family homes. This form of gentle densification supports the development of inclusive and sustainable communities and can be a way to respond to the current housing crisis. Middle housing types include duplexes, triplexes, cottage courts, townhouses.
Missing little: Opportunity to add gentle density to an existing home and optimize its single parcel of land. This could be achieved by converting, subdividing or adding to the principal dwelling: missing little types include basement suites, garage conversions, garden suites, multiplex conversion, and addition to existing building.
Multiplex conversion: Conversion of the principal dwelling into multiple units (duplex, triplex or more).
Townhouse: Small- to medium-sized attached structure consisting of multi-story dwelling units placed side-by-side.
Triplex: Detached home containing three residential units, usually stacked on top of each other. This housing type generally has an entry for the ground floor unit, and a shared entry for the units above.