By: Nima Ashtari, Asma Khan, Faizaan Khan, Jeff Allen, Ahmad Al-Musa
Finding The Missing Little in Toronto
Image by Daniel Parolek, with additions by Tuf Lab, Michael Piper
In 2010, Daniel Parolek coined the term “Missing Middle” to describe medium-density housing—duplexes, triplexes, bungalows, townhouses, cottage court, and more—that could be built between detached single-family homes and mid-rise apartments in order to restore housing affordability and address the need for walkable urban living.
At the lower end of the “Missing Middle” is an opportunity to insert density into existing single-family housing stock. We call this “Missing Little” housing, a term coined by Michael Piper. Adding gentle density in this form might include converting a basement or a garage into a liveable space, building a garden suite or laneway house, or subdividing a single-family home into a multiplex. By optimizing land use in this fashion, we estimate that 200,000 new affordable [i], gentle density units can be built in Canada’s largest cities by 2030.
This article defines different categories of “Missing Little” housing, outlines their legislative history in Toronto, and explores how they have been implemented around the city. The article also narrates stories of “Missing Little” owners and tenants who have shared their insights, experiences, and challenges.
Regulatory Timeline
Legend:
Multiplex
Garden Suite
Secondary Suite
Laneway Suite
Mixed - All
Mixed - Secondary & Laneway Suites
Types of Missing Little Housing
We have defined four overarching categories of Missing Little housing: Secondary Suites, Backyard or Rear-Yard Suites (also known as Detached Accessory Dwelling Units (Detached ADUs)), Multiplex conversions., and Multi-tenant conversions. These match the terms used by the City of Toronto, but might carry different meaning in other municipalities and provinces.
Secondary Suites
With reference to Toronto’s City-wide Zoning By-law 569-2013 a secondary suite is defined as: “Self-contained living accommodation for an additional person or persons living together as a separate single housekeeping unit, in which both food preparation and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of the occupants of the suite, located in and subordinate to a dwelling unit.”
This can include Garage Conversions, Basement Suites and Additions.
Attached Garage Conversion
Basement Suite
Addition
These all rely on leveraging existing formal elements of the single-family home to create subordinate dwelling units that are self-contained with both kitchen and bathroom facilities (which is what qualifies them as secondary suites). Examples include: Basement Suites where the basement is transformed into a subordinate and self contained dwelling unit, Additions which simply refers to attaching a new structure to the original house to add an extra dwelling unit, another example could be Garage Conversions which means the conversion of an attached garage into a dwelling unit.
Following are stories of tenants and owners of Secondary Suites in Toronto: The first story combines both categories Addition and a Basement Suite because the homeowner decided to to dig down and add a basement to an existing house, then rent it out. The second example is a typical conversion of an existing basement into a separate unit to house parents. The third story features the division of a split-bungalow into two units by carving out a secondary bachelor’s suite with dedicated entrance from the backyard. (Click on the pictures to read the stories)
Newly Constructed / added Basement Suite
Basement Suite Conversion
Secondary Suite in a Split Bungalow
Backyard or Rear-Yard Suites
This can include Laneway Suites and Garden Suites.
Toronto zoning bylaw defines a Laneway Suite as “a self-contained living accommodation for a person or persons living together as a separate single housekeeping unit, in which both food preparation and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of the occupants of the suite and is in an ancillary building abutting a lane. A garden suite is not a laneway suite.”
Whilst it defines a Garden Suite as “a self-contained living accommodation for a person or persons living together as a separate single housekeeping unit, in which both food preparation and sanitary facilities are provided for the exclusive use of the occupant(s) of the suite and is in an ancillary building not abutting a lane. A laneway suite is not a garden suite.”
Laneway Suite
Garden Suite
So, what’s the difference between a Laneway Suite and a Garden Suite?
The only difference between Laneway Suites and Garden Suites comes down to zoning and location. Laneway Suites must be adjacent to a Laneway, which is a specific category of street that exist almost entirely within Central Toronto and East York. Because of this, when the by-law amendment to permit Laneway Suites in R zones was passed in 2018, it was restricted to only Toronto and East York. On February 2, 2022, Accessory Dwelling Units (called Garden Suites) were permitted across the whole city, without the requirement to be adjacent to a laneway.
We have spoken to multiple tenants and owners of Backyard Suites across the city, and here is one of their stories :
(Click on the picture to read the full story)
Multi-use Laneway Suite
Multiplex Conversion
Converting a single-family home to a Multiplex is a little different. Generally, in a Multiplex there are no subordinate units, so this doesn’t fall into the category of Secondary Suites. Multiplex conversions also don’t create an Accessory Dwelling Unit. In May 2023, the City of Toronto amended the zoning bylaw to permit Multiplexes across the city. The definition of Multiplexes according to a study the City performed is: “Housing with 2, 3, or 4 units in a single building. This housing type is also referred to as a duplex, triplex, or fourplex. These homes could be rental or condominium units and they could either be in the form of converted houses or purpose-built as a multiplex.” Our focus in this article is on the conversions of existing Single-Family Dwellings into a Multiplex.
Multiplexes offer more units within the same building size that a large Single-Family home occupies, and within the same low-rise scale. The City calls this “Thinking Inside the Box: More Units, Same Scale.”
Multiplex Conversion
Since the amendment to the bylaw is still recent in Toronto, we were not able to capture a representative story of a Multiplex Conversion. However, ReHousing - a research project by the University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty in collaboration with Tuf Lab and LGA Architectural Partners - provides Multiplex Conversion scenarios and ideas for the different Single-Family housing types in Toronto.
Multi-Tenant (Rooming) Conversion
As defined by the City of Toronto “A multi-tenant house, commonly known as a rooming house, is where four or more people rent rooms and share a kitchen and/or washroom. These are currently only permitted in certain areas within Toronto where zoning permits them.”
This housing type is known for its affordability, and can be created by converting an apartment building, or a Single-Family home into a Multi-tenant house. The City is trying to add more units of this type through its Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) program. Some of these homes are owned by co-ops, non-profits, community land trusts, and by private owners.
We have spoken to a tenant of a Multi-tenant house Conversion near the University of Toronto St. George campus, and here is their story:
(Click on the picture to read the full story)
Student Co-op Housing Conversion
Solving the current housing crisis requires a suite of solutions that complement each other, and cater to the diverse needs of different demographics across the city. Based on the stories and experiences shared by Torontonians on this page, the Missing Little typologies seem to provide benefits and meet the needs of various groups including senior citizens, newcomers, students, young professionals, and new families. Simultaneously, the Missing Little concept enables homeowners to establish meaningful social connections through multi-generational living, generate extra income, contribute to mortgage payments, and make a positive impact on society by providing housing units during a housing crisis.
That being said, close attention and consideration must be given to the capacity of infrastructure and amenities in neighbourhoods to accommodate the additional units. These considerations involve assessing the existing capacity in comparison to demand, evaluating the utilization levels, and planning for potential expansion if the current capacity falls short. Furthermore, and as per the zoning bylaw requirements, active measures must be put into place to protect, maintain, and expand the urban tree canopy when building new units. By incorporating proper planning and thoughtful design that account for infrastructure capacity, amenities, tree canopy, parking, flooding and other relevant aspects, the implementation of the Missing Little can effectively expand housing options for the people in Toronto.
How about you? Do you have a Missing Little story to share?
If so, please contact us and we’d be glad to narrate it on our page!
Check our gentle density tracker in Toronto
References
[i.] The calculation for this back-of-the-envelope estimate of an affordable gentle density target is as follows: In Canada’s eight largest cities (Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Mississauga, and Brampton), there are 1,375,095 single detached houses (according to the 2021 Census). The most optimistic estimate of the share of homeowners interested in adding units is 30%, so 412,528 lots. Estimating just one additional dwelling per lot, and targeting half to be affordable, yields 206,000 units, rounding to 200,000.