'We Must Lower the Cost of Building Homes,' Says Mayor as Toronto Releases Designs for Garden, Laneway Suites

'We must lower the cost of building homes,' says mayor as Toronto releases designs for garden, laneway suites

Toronto is rolling out several measures to cut design costs and speed up permit approval times in its latest bid to boost construction of new housing.

City of Toronto Launches Pre-Approved Designs and Faster Permitting to Tackle Housing Delays

Today, the City of Toronto introduced a suite of measures aimed at reducing design costs and accelerating building permit approvals for new housing. Toronto has added more than 850,000 units to its development pipeline since 2020, but many projects still await building permit clearance. Seeking to unclog that queue, Mayor Olivia Chow introduced three reforms: free pre-approved plans for garden and laneway suites, wider online permit submission, …

City of Toronto taking steps to reduce design costs and speed up building permit approvals

News Release July 4, 2025 As one of the fastest growing cities in North America, Toronto continues to advance housing approvals through new initiatives that simplify and speed up the building permit process. Today, Mayor Olivia Chow further demonstrated the City of Toronto’s commitment by announcing several actions to help make it easier to get […]