You may have read that Toronto legalized sixplexes. That headline is half right, and the half it gets wrong matters a lot if you own a lot and want to build six units. A sixplex is as-of-right in nine wards — not the whole city. Everywhere else, the ceiling is four. Here is the map, the by-law, and how to read your own address against it.
TL;DR
- Toronto’s sixplex permission is NOT city-wide. Up to 6 units are allowed as-of-right in only 9 wards, under OPA 818 and Zoning By-law 654-2025, adopted by Council June 25–26, 2025.
- The nine wards are Ward 4 (Parkdale–High Park), 9 (Davenport), 10 (Spadina–Fort York), 11 (University–Rosedale), 12 (Toronto–St. Paul’s), 13 (Toronto Centre), 14 (Toronto–Danforth), 19 (Beaches–East York), plus Ward 23 (Scarborough North) as a pilot.
- Other wards can opt in through their councillor — the permission isn’t dead elsewhere, it just isn’t automatic.
- City-wide, the real as-of-right ceiling is a fourplex (up to 4 units). See whether your lot qualifies on is your lot eligible.
- The nine-ward limit is tied to the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (~$30M at stake), which pushed for the broader permission Council narrowed.
What Council actually passed
On June 25–26, 2025, Toronto City Council adopted Official Plan Amendment 818 and Zoning By-law 654-2025 (Council item 2025.PH22.4). These permit up to 6 units across 4 storeys in detached residential building forms — but only on lands in the nine wards listed above. The City’s own sixplex study page documents the scope.
The study was framed as “sixplexes city-wide.” Council didn’t go there. It approved the nine wards as-of-right and left the rest of the city on an opt-in basis. That distinction is the whole point of this post. If your lot is in Ward 16 (Don Valley East) or Ward 1 (Etobicoke North), a sixplex is not something you can pull a permit for today. See the full breakdown on sixplex wards.
The nine wards, and why they’re these nine
Eight of the nine sit in the Toronto and East York district — the old pre-amalgamation core. These are the wards with the narrow, deep lots backing onto laneways, the streetcar and subway access, and the existing density that makes a six-unit walk-up read as normal rather than out of scale. Ward 4 covers Parkdale and High Park; Ward 14 covers Leslieville, Riverdale and the Danforth; Ward 19 reaches the Beaches.
The ninth, Ward 23 (Scarborough North), is the outlier and the interesting one. It’s a suburban pilot. The City found that six-unit forms fit comfortably on the wide, deep postwar lots typical of Scarborough — so it added one suburban ward to test whether the form travels beyond the old-Toronto grid. If it works there, the case for going city-wide gets stronger.
The opt-in path for the other wards
If you’re not in the nine, you’re not necessarily stuck at four. The by-law includes an opt-in process: a ward councillor can request that sixplex permissions be extended to their ward. That makes the sixplex map a moving target. Before you assume your lot caps at four, check whether your councillor has opted in — and if they haven’t, that’s a conversation worth having if you’re planning to build.
The federal money behind the fight
The reason “city-wide” was on the table at all: the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. Toronto’s HAF agreement was built around broad missing-middle permissions, and the City flagged roughly $30 million in funding tied to delivering on those commitments. Narrowing sixplexes to nine wards put part of that money at risk. So this isn’t a settled file. Federal pressure and the opt-in mechanism both point toward the map expanding over time — but expansion isn’t retroactive, and it isn’t guaranteed.
What this means for your lot
Run two checks in order. First: is your lot in one of the nine wards (or an opted-in ward)? If yes, a sixplex is on the table as-of-right — confirm the zoning envelope sizes the building you want. If no, your as-of-right ceiling is a fourplex under the city-wide multiplex by-law, and you’d want to look at whether your councillor will opt in.
Second, regardless of unit count: a laneway suite or garden suite can add a unit on top of your multiplex if the lot supports one. That’s a separate permission that stacks.
The honest version
“Toronto legalized sixplexes” is a headline that will cost you money if you take it literally. The real rule: fourplex everywhere, sixplex in nine wards plus opt-in. Find your ward first. Everything else — envelope, parking, development charges — comes after you know which ceiling applies to you.
Start with the Toronto Multiplex hub, or check your ward against the nine-ward map.
