Angela Jiang experienced a major improvement in her quality of life after moving out of a high-rise apartment building. Previously residing on the 68th floor of a condo tower in downtown Toronto, she relocated five years ago to a fourplex in the city’s midtown area. A fourplex is a single building, typically detached, divided into four separate apartments.
“I loved how the neighbourhood was more residential, how I didn’t need an elevator at all, and how the large balcony I had caught so much light,” said Jiang, who works in investment banking.
The Fourplex Proposal
Proponents of fourplexes, including the Canadian government, hope these buildings will proliferate across the country, providing the “missing-middle” between large apartment buildings and single-family homes. This year, fourplexes gained national attention when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $6 billion initiative to help provinces tackle the housing crisis by making affordable properties more available. Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser has mandated that municipalities must permit fourplexes to receive their share of federal housing funds.
This initiative has been welcomed by provinces like British Columbia (BC), where legislation now requires cities with populations over 5,000 to permit fourplexes, and even five and sixplexes. However, Ontario and Alberta have expressed opposition. “We know that local municipalities know their communities best, and don’t believe in forcing them to build where it doesn’t make sense,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford told EMC News.
Historical Context and Current Resistance
The resistance to fourplexes largely stems from a fear that long-established suburban neighborhoods will lose their character if these multi-unit homes are forced upon them. Historically, Toronto’s zoning laws from 1929 to 2023 banned new-build fourplexes, reserving large residential areas for single-family homes. This was a common trend in other Anglophone Canadian cities, though Montreal saw more acceptance of fourplexes and small apartment buildings.
“Toronto had specific regulations to defend single-family neighborhoods,” said Alex Bozikovic, author of House Divided: How the Missing Middle Will Solve Toronto’s Affordability Crisis. “There was classism at play here, as policies from the 1910s aimed to keep apartments, perceived to attract the ‘wrong’ sorts of people, like immigrants, out of these neighborhoods.”
Bozikovic notes that the situation is now changing due to federal pressure. “Minister Fraser is using funding and a bully pulpit to push municipalities to make necessary changes, seeing fourplexes as a palatable immediate solution to the affordable housing crisis,” he said. “The question for Canada becomes, ‘Is this the answer, or just the first step to much larger reforms?’”
Challenges and Opportunities
Despite government support, developers and architects might not prioritize building fourplexes. “If you’re an experienced, well-capitalized developer, there are strong incentives to do larger projects on the parcel of land you have,” said Brandon Donnelly, managing director of development at Slate Asset Management. “Why focus on a four-unit project when you can do a 150-unit project?”
Financing fourplexes also poses challenges, as banks are not accustomed to this form of development. “Banks will need to develop new financing products for this missing-middle form of development, which isn’t the single-detached houses or concrete towers they’ve loaned money on for decades,” noted columnist Frances Bula. “Ramping up large-scale production of fourplexes will likely require a new niche type of developer.”
Tom Knezic, a Toronto architect and co-founder of Solares Architecture, has designed several fourplexes in the city. He believes fourplexes can be creatively designed and that they can help address the housing crisis. “Fourplexes don’t have to be architecturally boring,” he said. “The units can vary in size, accommodating different types of residents, from single individuals to families.”
Looking Ahead
Despite their potential, the boom in fourplex construction has yet to take off. As of last month, Toronto and Vancouver had received only about 100 applications to build fourplexes, according to press reports.
The future of fourplexes in Canada remains uncertain. While they offer a promising solution to the housing shortage, significant opposition and practical challenges must be overcome. Whether fourplexes will spark a housing revolution or become a small part of a broader reform remains to be seen.
