Toronto Sixplex Applications: Where Investors Are Actually Building

Toronto made sixplexes legal more than a year ago. Since then, the city has received more than 60 applications to build them.

Whether that is a lot or a little depends on who you ask. But where those applications landed tells Toronto multiplex investors a lot more than the number does.

Say you own a detached house on a decent lot in the east end. The rules may let you put 6 units on it. But 6 units on paper and 6 units that actually make money are two very different things. Here is what the new city data shows, and how to tell if your lot should be a sixplex or a triplex.

Toronto allowed up to 4 units on most residential lots across the city in 2023. City staff then recommended allowing fiveplexes and sixplexes everywhere too.

After a lot of pushback from suburban wards, council limited sixplexes in June 2025. They are allowed as of right only in the old Toronto and East York district, plus Ward 23 (Scarborough North). Anywhere else, a sixplex needs committee of adjustment approval, and the neighbours get a say.

Toronto also waives development charges on multiplexes up to 6 units. That helps the math on paper, but it does not change the land price, the build cost or the rents. Those are what decide whether a sixplex works. For the full zoning details, see our guide to Toronto sixplex and multiplex rules.

Source: City of Toronto data. Map: Toronto Star.

The applications sit in 2 clusters. One is in the west, along the top edge of the old city, around Davenport and up toward St. Clair. The other is in the east end, around the Danforth and East York.

Toronto-Danforth	15 applications
Davenport	14 applications
Toronto-St. Paul’s	12 applications

The applications went where land, rents and transit line up. Just because you can build a sixplex doesn’t mean the market wants one on every lot.

More than half of the applications also want a garden or laneway suite in the backyard. That would be a 7th unit, and it needs special permission from the city. The investors doing this are trying to squeeze every unit they can out of lots where the math is already strong.

A handful of people even applied where sixplexes are not allowed as of right, like York Centre and Etobicoke North, with 2 each. Those need committee of adjustment approval, which is slower and riskier.

Toronto has become much friendlier to small multiplexes in just a few years. The changes have come faster, gone further and gotten cheaper.

Year	What Changed
2018	Laneway suites allowed
2022	Garden suites allowed
2023	Up to 4 units on most lots across the city
2025	Sixplexes allowed in select wards
2026	Free, pre-approved fourplex and sixplex designs released

Each time, the rule changed overnight, but builds picked up slowly. The rules come first. The financing, the builders and the know-how take years to catch up. To be fair, high rates and building costs were part of that story too.

The building industry has long been set up for either end users buying new homes or big condo developers. A sixplex sits in an awkward middle, which is exactly why people call it the missing middle.

What we see with our own clients lines up with this. Many investors call us asking about 5+ units because they hear about the financing. Once they run the numbers, most land on a triplex project or even a turnkey 3-unit house, often with garden or laneway suite potential for later. The usual reasons are cash and experience. A sixplex build needs a lot more money up front and a long stretch with no rent coming in, and many of our clients are investing on the side, not full time.

It depends on what you compare it to. Both of these reads are fair.

The Optimistic Read This is a brand new type of building in Toronto, and builders and lenders are still figuring it out. More than half of applicants want a 7th unit, which shows they are serious. Some people want sixplexes badly enough to apply where they are not even allowed as of right.

The Sceptical Read It is just over 60 applications across the whole city in about 17 months. And these are applications, not permits and not finished buildings.

In our opinion, it is still too soon to tell. A little over a year is not enough data. We need a few more years for a solid picture.

Sixplexes will also get more traction once there are real sold comps. Right now there are hardly any finished sixplexes, let alone ones that have sold. So the value is mostly on paper. At 5 units and up, value is based on a cap rate, which is math on the rents. It is not proven until a buyer actually pays it.

How do you know if you should convert a house into 2 or 3 units, or go all the way to a sixplex plus a backyard suite? These are the 4 things we check on any lot.

1	Zoning You need to be in one of the allowed wards to build 6 units as of right. Outside them, you are looking at committee of adjustment, and the neighbours get a say.
2	Backyard Suite Potential Check if the lot can take a garden or laneway suite. Lot size, distance from the street for fire access, side setbacks and trees can all rule it out.
3	Parking and Transit Check for overnight street parking and how close you are to the subway or buses. If you are not near transit, there is no overnight street parking and there is no room for a couple of spots on site, don’t even think about 4 or more units.
4	The Math At 5 units and up, you are into commercial financing, so the rents need to support a big enough mortgage. If you want to repeat this at scale, the mortgage should cover about the total cost of the project, land and build. That is how you get most of your cash back out for the next one.

If you have around $300,000 and a solid salary, a ground-up sixplex is a builder project. A triplex conversion or a good turnkey is usually a better fit for that budget. Here are 2 real deals our clients are looking at, both at 20% down, 4.50% and a 30-year amortization.

Turnkey 3-Unit Semi Near Dufferin and St. Clair (A Great Deal, Not a Typical One)

Purchase price	$800,000
Rents: Unit 1 (3 bed), Unit 2 (2 bed), Basement (1 bed)	$3,000 / $2,500 / $1,800
Total rent	$7,300/mo
Cash in (down payment, closing costs, light renovation)	$236,450
Monthly cash flow	$2,915/mo

Detached Conversion Project Near Christie and Ossington

Purchase price	$900,000
Rents: Unit 1 (2 bed), Unit 2 (2 bed), Basement (1 bed), parking	$3,050 / $3,050 / $1,700 / $225
Total rent	$8,025/mo
Cash in (down payment, closing costs, $100,000 renovation)	$310,450
Cash flow before refinance	$3,055/mo
Cash back on refinance (80% of $1,200,000 value)	$240,000
Cash left in the deal	$70,450
Cash flow after refinance	$1,845/mo

For educational purposes only. Actual figures and returns may vary.

The conversion also has laneway suite potential to add cash flow down the road. You can find more deals like these on our current Toronto deals page.

The sixplex rules give Toronto investors more options, and that is a good thing. But the right number of units depends on your lot, your area, your financing, your experience and your time. For most investors, that is still about 3 units or a conversion project, and it takes the right lens to know when 6 makes sense.

Our brokerage specializes in Toronto multiplexes. We’ll help you find deals, crunch the numbers, and guide you through renovations and management. If you want full support in Toronto multiplex investing, our team can help you:

• Find high-potential properties
• Crunch the numbers so you know exactly where you stand
• Coach you through renovations to maximize returns
• Lock in great tenants
• Provide full property management so your investment runs smoothly

Book a strategy session with us here and let’s map out the smartest move for your portfolio.