The City of Toronto has announced a series of initiatives aimed at speeding up the time it takes to issue building permits and get houses built faster.

The new initiatives include issuing pre-approved building plans for garden suites and laneway suites, offering online services for building permit applications, and allowing licensed professional engineers to stamp building drawings and assume responsibility for compliance with the Ontario Building Code.

“We need to build more affordable homes faster that people can afford,” said Mayor Olivia Chow. “The City of Toronto is taking action to cut red tape and accelerate housing development in our city. This announcement will simplify approvals at city hall by enabling online applications, supporting faster approvals and providing pre-approved designs to accelerate building.”

The city is launching free, standardized “made in Toronto” building plans for garden and laneway suites. It says that applicants that use these plans can save time and money at the design phase, simplifying and speeding up the delivery of new homes in existing neighbourhoods.

The city is also expanding its online services to enable online, self-service building permit application submissions for new houses and new residential units, including secondary suites, multiplex conversions and laneway or garden suites. The initiative aims to streamline the permit application process by automating document checks and submissions, reducing manual processing and allowing staff reviews to begin sooner.

Finally, the city is expanding its program that allows licensed professional engineers to stamp building drawings and assume responsibility for compliance with the Ontario Building Code.

Launched as a pilot in 2024, the program will now include accessory structures such as laneway suites and garden suites, mechanical systems, as well as enhanced fire protection measures. Results from the pilot program to date show that the city can reduce the average time from permit application to occupancy by approximately 28 days.

The City is also sharing Demonstration Plans, which illustrate where housing options such as pre-approved multiplexes, garden suites or laneway suites could be easily built. These demonstration models are intended to help the public visualize how missing middle housing can fit within existing communities.

Between 2020 and 2024, Toronto recorded the largest residential development pipeline in its history, with more than 850,000 homes proposed.