Interested in adding more homes on your property? Find out how

Are you considering adding a garden suite in your backyard? Or, maybe you’re thinking about converting your basement and second floor into apartments? You’re not alone. People in cities across Ontario are looking for new ways to create more housing in their own neighbourhoods. Whether it’s finding a way to age in place, building separate units for family members or creating an income property – there are lots of different reasons for wanting to add more homes on your lot.

In Mississauga, we’ve updated our zoning rules to make it possible to build more units on your property.  This means, if you own a detached, semi-detached or town house, it’s now easier to build:

• Up to two additional residential units (ARUs) in addition to your primary home; or
• A new fourplex on your lot (or convert your current home to four separate units)

While not all properties are suitable, our research shows that a detached ARU is permitted on more than 130,000 residential lots in Mississauga. And many other homes could be converted to accommodate a second or third unit.

Getting started

Interested in building? To help you get started, the City has launched a new Building More Units webpage to help determine whether building an ARU or fourplex makes sense for you. You’ll find information about:

• The types of attached and detached ARUs you can consider
• The difference between a purpose-built fourplex and fourplex conversion
• How to submit a building permit application
• Permit processing times
• Links to detailed zoning regulations

Encouraging a mix of housing options makes sense for Mississauga. We want everyone – from young people just starting out to older people looking to downsize – to be able to find a place to call home.

Visit mississauga.ca/building-more-units to learn more about building additional residential units

Background

Increasing ‘Missing Middle’ housing in low-rise communities is a key action in the City’s housing plan.

Read Growing Mississauga: An Action Plan for New Housing to learn how the City is working to meet the province’s goal of building 120,000 new homes while streamlining building approvals and making homes more affordable.

Tags

• Housing
• Planning and Building