From the City permit register
Where a Toronto multiplex is cheapest, and fastest to permit
The six former municipalities compared across 850 new multiplex buildings permitted since January 2024. Permit times differ by 36 days end to end: Etobicoke issues in a median of 68 days, Scarborough takes 104.
The six former municipalities
Ordered by how many new multiplex applications each has on record. Area comes from the City's own address record, not from postal codes, which straddle the old boundaries.
| Area | Projects | Addresses | Median declared | Median days to issue | 4-home share | Still open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North York | 218 | 199 | $900,000 | 83 | 56% | 164 |
| Scarborough | 184 | 141 | $800,000 | 104 | 28% | 130 |
| Old Toronto | 165 | 143 | $1,000,000 | 83 | 29% | 119 |
| Etobicoke | 128 | 115 | $1,000,000 | 68 | 55% | 84 |
| York | 92 | 85 | $1,000,000 | 69 | 65% | 58 |
| East York | 63 | 60 | $1,000,000 | 76 | 25% | 48 |
| All Toronto | 850 | 743 | $900,000 | 81 | 43% | 603 |
"4-home share" is the proportion of an area's projects that record four new homes, which is a rough read on whether builders there go to the as-of-right maximum. Declared value is what the applicant wrote on the application: not a sale price, not the finished cost, and it excludes the land.
Projects permitted
Median days to permit issue
Shorter is faster. Projects still under review are excluded rather than counted at how long they have waited so far.
Busiest wards
The twelve most active of the 24 Toronto wards with any new multiplex activity. Wards with 35 or more projects have their own page.
- Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest 116
- Ward 18 Willowdale 84
- Ward 3 Etobicoke-Lakeshore 84
- Ward 8 Eglinton-Lawrence 67
- Ward 19 Beaches-East York 56
- Ward 9 Davenport 45
- Ward 14 Toronto-Danforth 44
- Ward 5 York South-Weston 43
- Ward 6 York Centre 42
- Ward 12 Toronto-St. Paul's 35
- Ward 15 Don Valley West 25
- Ward 11 University-Rosedale 24
Other cuts of the same data
Compare the wards, then price your own lot
Ward comparisons tell you where building is happening. PlexCheck tells you what happens on one specific lot: the City zoning, the unit ceiling, the CMHC rents and the loan test.
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Questions people ask
Which part of Toronto issues multiplex permits fastest? +
Etobicoke, at a median of 68 days from application to permit issue across 89 issued projects. Scarborough is the slowest at 104 days, a spread of 36 days. The citywide median is 81 days.
Where is a Toronto multiplex cheapest to build? +
On declared construction value, Scarborough is the lowest at a median of $800,000, against $1,000,000 in Old Toronto. That is the figure the applicant wrote on the permit application. It is not a sale price, it is not the finished cost of the build, and it excludes the land, which in Toronto is usually the larger number.
Which former municipality has the most multiplex applications? +
North York, with 218 new multiplex permit applications filed since January 2024 at 199 addresses. That is 25.6 percent of the city total.
Does a cheaper area mean a cheaper project overall? +
No. Declared construction value excludes land, and land is usually the larger cost in Toronto. An area with a lower median declared value may still be more expensive to develop once the lot is priced in. These figures compare what builders told the City the construction would cost, nothing more.
Source: City of Toronto Open Data, Building Permits (Active and Cleared), joined to the City's One Address Repository on the City's own address point id. New-build multiplexes only; conversions, basement suites and laneway or garden suites are counted separately. Data refreshed Aug 27, 2026. VanPlex is a British Columbia builder and does not operate in Toronto.