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A dispute between homeowners in a quiet East York suburb is drawing attention to a possible loophole in Toronto’s latest effort to ease its housing crisis.
Since 2023, property owners in neighbourhoods that used to be reserved for single-family dwellings have been allowed to build and sell up to three additional units atop their homes anywhere in the city.
But on Astor Avenue, in south Leaside, a new property owner is using a duplex permit to build a much larger home for his family — a three-storey structure that towers above the surrounding two-storey homes.
It’s a building plan that neighbours and the local residents’ association say violates the spirit of the new multiplex zoning rules.
“It feels really out of place — it’s mammoth,” said Dana Gazzola, whose home backs onto the Astor Avenue property. “Does that belong in a neighbourhood like this? No.”
This new, three-storey structure on Astor Avenue in south Leaside is being built under a duplex permit, but will only house members of the same family, the owner says. (Mike Smee/CBC)
The new homeowner on Astor, Behnam Rashidi, agreed he is building a much larger, three-story home on the existing property, complete with an in-law suite, using a permit to build a duplex, even though it will be only his family members living there.
Rashidi wouldn’t agree to a formal interview with CBC Toronto but in a brief conversation he said he’s doing nothing wrong, and city building inspectors who’ve visited the site several times have raised no objections.
No clear distinction between secondary suite, duplex: city
In the spring of 2023, city council paved the way for developers to build multiplexes containing as many as four housing units within residential neighbourhoods anywhere in the city. It was a way of tackling the city’s housing crisis and by last summer, the rules had been loosened even further, allowing property owners in some parts of the city to build as many as six units on a single lot in residential neighbourhoods.
Under the current city rules, homeowners can build a secondary suite, but it must be smaller than the primary dwelling. Most are built as basement apartments. Multiplex zoning allows for a much larger, higher structure, with more square footage and smaller setbacks from neighbouring properties.
Coun. Rachel Chernos Lin (Don Valley West) says more works needs to be done to ensure builders aren’t using duplex permits to expand the size of single-family homes. (Mike Smee/CBC)
Local Coun. Rachel Chernos Lin (Don Valley West) worries that’s an incentive for developers to construct massive homes for single families without doing anything to solve the housing crisis.
As it stands now, city staff tell CBC Toronto, there is no hard and fast distinction between a secondary suite and a duplex.
That’s something Chernos Lin wants to see changed so the city can ensure its expanded multiplex permits are being used to alleviate the housing shortage, rather than simply allowing property owners to build bigger single-family homes.
In April, Chernos Lin brought a motion to city council calling on city staff to clarify the differences between a so-called secondary, or in-law suite in a house, and a multiplex unit. The motion passed easily.
There’s no deadline attached to Chernos Lin’s request for clarification.
Chernos Lin told CBC Toronto that city staff and inspectors have raised no objections to the construction of the three-story home with an in-law suite on a duplex permit.
Meanwhile, residents like Gazzola and some on Astor Avenue are upset, according to Geoff Kettel, co-chair of the Leaside Residents Association.
“It’s a very tight-knit street and they’ve really come together over this,” Kettel said. “They understand the need for housing but a development like this is really out of place.”
Kettel is also concerned duplex, triplex, and fourplex applications could be used to simply expand the size of single-family dwellings.
“It defeats the purpose of the multiplex zoning,” he said. “You’re not adding any real housing, you’re just adding storeys to someone’s home.”
‘Is this a duplex?’
On Southlea Avenue, the Gazzola family agrees that the housing crisis needs to be tackled. But they question whether the current rules are accomplishing that.
“Is this a duplex? Or is it a single-family residence? So far nobody knows,” said Steve Gazzola, Dana Gazzola’s husband.
Although Chernos Lin told CBC Toronto she knows of “a couple” of instances in her ward where it appears duplex permits are being used to build much larger single-family homes, there are no statistics that point to a wider trend.
City staff say they don’t have a database that keeps track of multiplex complaints.