Reports
Relevant Reports
Enabling the Missing Middle: Definitions, evidence, barriers and promising practices - Nov 2024
This research collects evidence from local and international practices to suggest a set of Missing Middle (MM) enablers. There is evidence that MM reform, if comprehensively undertaken, can increase affordable, well-located supply of a range of homes, which in turn can decrease rents for low and moderate-income households. MM enablers range from zoning and building code reforms to reducing or eliminating development taxes that punish new development.
Making the Case for the Missing Middle: The Potential of Middle Housing Production in Alberta - Nov 2024
This report explores the potential of middle housing in alleviating Alberta’s housing challenges. The study involved a comprehensive literature review, engagement with individuals involved in middle housing development, and analyses of successful case studies relevant to Alberta’s context. This work produced a number of key findings that influence and inform the potential for increased middle housing production in Alberta:
Middle housing as a solution
Actions beyond re-zoning
Importance of effective public engagement
The potential of citizen-development
Opportunities for building innovation
Gentle Density Housing Bylaw Guide: A pathway for local governments – Apr 2024
This Guide aims to provide local governments with a roadmap for changing their zoning bylaws to allow gentle density housing, based on experiences from jurisdictions leading the way.
Drawing from the experiences of local governments in British Columbia mandated to enable gentle density housing, and sharing the wide range of approaches that could be taken, the Guide provides technical and procedural insight from basic zoning bylaw amendments through to a suite of regulatory changes to make it easier to produce gentle density housing.
Guidance Paper: Gentle Density & Energy Efficiency – Mar 2024
This Small Housing Guidance Paper presents recommendations that will assist various actors involved in planning, designing and constructing energy efficient buildings, especially as it relates to new gentle density development.
Small-Scale, Multi-Unit Housing Toolkit for Local Governments – Mar 2024
This resource is intended to help local governments and their community members understand the legislative changes introduced in 2023 related to small-scale, multi-unit housing (SSMUH). The information in this tool kit is for guidance only and is not a substitute for provincial legislation. It is not legal advice and should not be relied on for that purpose.
Guidance Paper: Ownership & Operations of Gentle Density Housing – Mar 2024
This guide paper addresses the ownership and operations of gentle density housing in British Columbia. It was created in collaboration with industry experts and includes key recommendations to remove barriers that reduce the viability and uptake of gentle density housing.
Guidance Paper: Offsite Construction for Gentle Density Housing – Jan 2024
This Small Housing guidance paper presents research findings from interviews, focus groups and a multi-stakeholder roundtable, including the participation of industry experts, building officials and key government representatives to unpack current barriers to adoption and explore approaches to accelerating the use of offsite construction to grow gentle density supply.
SSMUH and TOA Scenarios in British Columbia - Dec 2023
This report models two land use reforms for British Columbia, the Small Scale Multi Unit Housing (SSMUH) initiative, enabling 4-plex housing on all residential lots in urban areas across the province and 6-plexes in the frequent transit network, and the Transit Oriented Area (TOA) initiative, with higher density stepping up to as high as 20 storeys in parts of designated transit oriented areas.1 The model reflects density scenarios consistent with ministerial statements and placed within the context of recent reforms enacted in other jurisdictions, particularly New Zealand and Washington State. We also compare examples of existing zoning and reform efforts across a selection of municipalities within British Columbia.
Gentle Density and Infrastructure Guidance Paper for Local and Provincial Government - Jul 2023
Communities across the BC are struggling to meet the housing needs of their residents, while working with limited funds for new infrastructure and a shrinking land base for outward expansion. Gentle density housing types, ranging from secondary suites and backyard infill through houseplexes and small townhouses present an attractive solution to growing our housing supply within our existing residential neighbourhoods. With Provincial policy set to increase development potential as-of-right in many residential areas, Small Housing – with support from consulting firms Urban Systems and ECONorthwest – convened a roundtable discussion to explore the relationship between gentle density housing types and local infrastructure. The Gentle Density & Infrastructure Roundtable included representatives from local governments, utility service providers, the development community, and Provincial government representatives.
This Guidance Paper presents recommendations that will assist various actors involved in planning for and financing growthrelated infrastructure, especially as it relates to new gentle density development. It provides background information and identifies challenges and recommendations in seven key areas: 1. Development finance tools 2. Local government capacity and understanding 3. Other order of government funding 4. Water and fire protection 5. Sewer system capacity 6. Stormwater management, and 7. Electrification.
Gentle Density and Affordability Guidance Paper for Local Governments and Other Community Partners - Jun 2023
This guidance paper brings together insights and perspectives collected through two expert roundtables where participants identified existing and emerging tools for local governments to increase the supply of gentle density and enhance its affordability. Proforma analysis was also conducted to accompany many of the tools, providing insights on the potential financial impact of various measures.
Multiplex Housing Financial Feasibility Exercise - 2022
This report presents the methods, findings, and recommendations of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Toronto’s Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) financial feasibility exercise. This exercise is in support of ongoing efforts by the City of Toronto to facilitate more low-rise housing in residential neighbourhoods within the city and follows the adoption of the Multiplex Study Interim Report in November 2021 - a zoning policy study to allow as-of-right multiplexes (2-4 residential units) in residential neighbourhoods across the city.
Upzoning Metro Vancouver’s Low-density Neighbourhoods for Housing Affordability - Feb 2022
To address the twin crises of housing affordability and climate change, Metro Vancouver needs more housing. Specifically, the city needs more “missing middle” housing between the extremes of detached homes and large condo towers. This paper proposes a framework of conditional upzoning, a regulatory shift away from detached housing to allow higher-density development across the region, while requiring that all new housing development contributes to greater affordability
The ‘Missing Middle’ - An Answer to Toronto’s Housing Shortages? - 2021
This report on the 'missing middle' has been commissioned by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board to assess the potential for increasing the available housing supply by introducing new forms of housing in the single-family neighbourhoods across the Greater Toronto Area.
Accessory Dwelling Units: Case Studies and Best Practices from BC Communities - 2021
This ADU guide was developed to address the current, timely needs and interests of small- and medium-sized communities wishing to scale up the provision of ADUs by providing demonstrated, effective leading practices in policies, bylaws, engagement, and other initiatives to more successfully implement ADUs
Secondary units in Ontario: municipal estimates and what contributes to disparities - Jun 2021
The purpose of this paper is to provide a more accurate estimate of the number of secondary units in Ontario’s most populated municipalities, and to examine some of the factors that contribute to the regional disparities across the province. The report devised a method that identified which properties in the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s (MPAC) database, one of the most comprehensive sources of property information in Ontario, had a secondary unit. Once these homes were identified, the authors were able to analyze whether certain location- and property-specific attributes affected the likelihood of a home having a secondary unit.
The City-Builder’s Guide to Building the Missing Middle - Apr 2021
A guidebook motivated by the necessity to address the housing supply gap in Toronto. It offers an overview of the potential for “Missing Middle” housing through the use of drawings, case studies, and relevant policy information. It explores the potential of integrating Missing Middle housing into the city’s urban fabric, and the opportunity to improve the balance of housing options in the city. This guidebook is a resource for any city-builder working to create a more accessible and diverse city.
Missing Middle Housing: Development Costs and Affordability - Sep 2020
A pro forma analysis of several "Missing Middle" projects shows that expanding housing options has the potential to generate new rental units in neighbourhoods. The City of Toronto can contribute to affordability primarily through changes to development charges and other municipal costs, and by establishing a straightforward approvals process.
From Dream to Reality: Time to Take the Leap on “Missing Middle” Housing – Jul 2020
The City Planning Division's 2020 report outlines strategies for expanding housing options in Toronto's low-rise neighborhoods, focusing on increasing density and addressing barriers to "missing middle" housing. By promoting secondary suites, townhouses, and low-rise apartments, the city aims to create more affordable and diverse housing options, thereby reducing the migration of residents seeking affordable homes elsewhere.
A strategy for significantly increasing the supply of “missing middle” housing in the city of Toronto - Feb 2019
The report explores the role of missing middle housing in the Toronto market (both past and present), and the reasons for the limited production of new missing middle housing units relative to demand. Further it provides recommendations for significantly increasing the supply of these types of housing units in Toronto in the future.
In-Between Issues: Exploring the “Missing Middle” in Ontario - 2019
This report demonstrates that accommodating future population growth in Ontario does not just mean increasing the supply of housing, but rather building the right type of housing. It explores reasons why Missing Middle housing types represent a decreasing proportion of new housing starts in Ontario, and identifies several contributing factors, including current land use planning regulations and the cost associated with development projects. The report also explores factors that contribute to housing unaffordability faced by middle-income earners in Ontario, and shows that by increasing the stock of Missing Middle housing types, middle-income earners will be able to choose a living situation that suits their household’s needs.
Accessory Dwelling Units. Principles and Best Practices - Sep 2018
This guide on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) is the result of a partnership between Arpent, a not-for-profit urban planning firm, and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Its purpose is to provide guidance and support for municipalities interested in this type of dwelling. Drawing on the experience of both U.S. and Canadian cities and on an extensive scientific literature review, this guide aims to promote good practices and the adoption of enabling ADU regulations in Canada.
Finding the Missing Middle in the GTHA An Intensification Case Study of Mississauga - Oct 2018
This report closely examines immediate, available opportunities to add Missing Middle housing in the City of Mississauga via intensification, using a model that can be readily transferred to other municipalities and scaled to the GTHA. The contradiction of low-density sprawl with no room to continue to grow outward makes Mississauga a perfect case study to build lower-scale Missing Middle housing to fit beside and into its single-detached house neighbourhoods (known also as “the Yellowbelt.”
What is the Missing Middle? A Toronto housing challenge demystified - 2018
The purpose of this brief is to bring clarity to the concept of the missing middle and to identify areas to explore solutions for increasing the supply of missing middle housing in Toronto.
Bringing the Neighbourhood into Infill - 2016
This report describes the outcomes of research undertaken in 2015-16 to consider the nature of resistance from existing residents to infill housing development in Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods, as well as the resistance of policy to this form of development.
Literature Review and Case Studies of Local Jurisdictions that Permit Secondary Suites - May 2015
To support knowledge and informed decision making regarding secondary suites, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) initiated a research project to document approaches used successfully by local governments across Canada to allow or encourage the creation of secondary suites in residential areas. As more municipalities develop policies and approaches to permit secondary suites, CMHC was also interested in raising awareness of the extent to which these approaches are helping to increase the supply of affordable rental housing. The intent is to provide valuable information to municipalities and other stakeholders to support the creation of secondary suites and inform related regulatory and policy considerations.
Releated Reports
Shaping the Future of Housing: Insights from Canadian Homeowners - Nov 2024
This report offers insights into the attitudes and preferences of Canadian homeowners, empowering stakeholders to refine their strategies in line with market needs. Through qualitative research, we explore key homeowner behaviors, barriers to adoption, and opportunities for engagement with innovative housing solutions. We aim to inform developers, builders, and policymakers with practical recommendations to help them better align their offerings with consumer demand.
Drawing on qualitative ecosystem research designed to gather insights from 56 Canadian homeowners across diverse demographics, we examined homeowner perspectives on innovative housing, focusing on their awareness, perceptions, and barriers to adoption. The different forms of housing innovation we investigated include Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), middle housing and multiplex conversions, modular and prefabricated housing, affordable housing, supportive housing, non-profit housing associations, and community bonds. By exploring these topics, we identified common themes that set the foundation for quantitative research to validate and expand upon the preliminary findings in this report. The results of our quantitative study will be shared on this website through a different content piece.
Throughout the research, we observed that many participants used "modular" and "prefabricated" interchangeably, reflecting a lack of clear differentiation between these methods. As a result, we collapsed the findings for modular and prefabricated housing innovations in this report to provide a unified analysis.
Building social connections Toolbox of design actions to nurture wellbeing in multi-unit housing – Jul 2024
Over 2023 and 2024, Happy Cities, Hey Neighbour Collective, and researchers from Simon Fraser University worked together with five local municipalities and one First Nation to co-create new policies to encourage sociable multi-unit housing design.
Building on the learnings from this project—and nearly a decade of prior research—Happy Cities and Hey Neighbour Collective have published a new design toolkit of evidence-based strategies to nurture social wellbeing multi-unit housing. The design principles and actions equip policy makers, planners, designers, and community members to build and advocate for more socially connected, inclusive communities, drawing on long-term research and engagement with residents and housing industry actors—including non-profit housing providers, city planners, architects, and market developers.
Scaling Up Affordable Ownership Housing in the GTA – Jun 2017
This paper demonstrates what needs to be done to produce ownership housing that is within reach of middle class households, millennials, new Canadians and those working to join the middle class. It argues that it is appropriate and possible for governments to support scaling up affordable ownership housing production – without the need for ongoing financial subsidies. This would complement efforts to create affordable rental housing. If 5% of the more than 200,000 middle-income renters (with and without children) in the GTA who pay less than 30% of their income on rent could move to ownership housing, this would free up 10,000 units of affordable rental apartments in the stagnant GTA rental market.
Priced Out: Understanding the factors affecting home prices in the GTA - Nov 2013
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and the Pembina Institute’s Home Location Study released last year found that over 80% of Greater Toronto Area (GTA) residents would give up a large home and yard to live in a “locationefficient” neighbourhood that is transit-friendly, walkable and offers shorter commute times.1 However, more than 70% of residents in the GTA live where they do because of affordability rather than preference.2 Households are choosing car-dependent neighbourhoods mostly because of prices rather than a preference for the location. Priced Out is a follow-up study researched and written by the Pembina Institute, co-published by RBC, that explores the factors contributing to rising home prices in the GTA, and how homebuyers are being “priced out” of location-efficient options.
Widening inequities: Long-term housing affordability in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area 1991-2016
This paper examines long-term population-level housing affordability challenges and trends in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) from 1991 to 2016. This project’s goal is to analyze how housing affordability has changed for the general population and for different socio-demographic groups over this 25-year study period. Affordability is measured using shelter cost to income ratio (STIRs) data from the 1991 to 2016 censuses and the 2011 National Household Survey for the Toronto CMA. This equity-based analysis examines the distribution of household STIRs within and between a range of socio-demographic groups.