Are fourplexes an answer to the local housing crisis? These 2 mayors think so

Allowing four units on one residential property could be a way to address the local housing crisis, two mayors say.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie have both raised the idea to allow fourplexes in their cities.

Vrbanovic's notice of motion to permit fourplexes went before councillors Monday night and it was passed unanimously.

Now, city staff will look to create a zoning bylaw amendment that would permit "as-of-right" permissions for up to four residential units on a property. 

"This is something that a number of cities across Canada have started to do and we're amongst the first to get there," Vrbanovic told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition on Tuesday.

"It's consistent with our missing-middle and affordable housing study that came to council back in April 2023 and really is part of our city's efforts of taking steps to address some of the challenges through our Housing for All strategy."

Guelph council is set to discuss housing in general, and the idea of fourplexes, in a meeting on Tuesday.

On the social media website X, formerly Twitter, Guthrie said he felt "positive my council will embrace this to help with the housing crisis we're clearly in" and it would show the federal government "we're serious about helping people, especially the next generation feeling completely hopeless, to find housing."

After Tuesday's meeting, Guthrie confirmed councillors supported the idea of permitting fourplexes.

Waterloo Coun. Royce Bodaly has also brought forward a motion looking at permitting four units on one lot in Waterloo. That motion is set to be discussed at an Oct. 30 meeting.

WATCH | Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic talks about benefits of fourplexes:

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic on why he wants fourplexes in the city

1 year ago

Duration 2:00

Kitchener city council passed a motion Monday night to direct staff to develop a bylaw amendment to permit fourplexes on single residential lots in the city.

Fourplexes check 'so many boxes'

Dawn Parker is a professor of planning at the University of Waterloo who researches missing-middle housing and she says fourplexes are a good example of what is meant by the term.

Parker says missing middle is often a building with three bedrooms that can accommodate family-sized units on one parcel of land. It can also be defined as housing for moderate income family households.

"I resoundingly support this move and I'm really happy to see Kitchener and Guelph boldly and bravely moving forward with it. It checks so many boxes," Parker told CBC News. "This is a new opportunity that we should not only be thinking about encouraging developers, but we should think about facilitating homeowners to grow in place on their parcels."

A fourplex — residential buildings where there are four separate units in one building — "fits in with the fabric of a residential neighborhood. It has a similar built form to larger houses or small apartments that can sit under the tree canopy and fit in gracefully in our neighbourhoods," she said.

Currently, fourplexes need special zoning approvals to be built in many Ontario municipalities. The "as-of-right" part of any possible future bylaw means fourplexes would be legally allowed under the municipality's zoning bylaw, so developers wouldn't need to go through a process to get special permission to build them.

Other cities consider fourplexes

The idea of fourplexes has been brought forward in other Ontario municipalities with mixed results.

In Ottawa, councillors were split on the idea this month, with some saying they had concerns the city's infrastructure might not be able to handle a rapid increase in density.

Mississauga councillors voted against the idea of immediately allowing fourplexes during a meeting this month, although they agreed to have staff research it and report back at a future council meeting.

City staff in Toronto noted in a report in April that the More Homes Built Faster Act, passed by the province in November 2022, authorized duplexes and triplexes because the act stated that any policy or bylaw that prohibited fewer than three units in a single building "are of no effect." The city passed a motion to allow fourplexes in May.

A piece of the puzzle

Fourplexes are a good piece of the housing puzzle, says Brian Doucet, an associate professor in the school of planning at the University of Waterloo and the Canada research chair in urban change and social inclusion.

He says there are lots of good reasons to get rid of the idea that one property is for one residential unit and for municipalities to adopt zoning that can adapt to changing circumstances and priorities.

But, he suggested, allowing fourplexes creates private profit for an individual or developer "with very little in the way of social return or social benefit" because, Doucet said, these kinds of housing decisions don't always result in affordable housing units.

"There's a bit of a mixed bag of evidence as to whether or not this leads to new supply being added on the kind of scale that we need, at prices that are affordable," he said.

He said it would be a very progressive step for municipalities to allow four units, but stipulate at least one must be affordable.

"There's different ways of defining affordable housing but even taking a looser definition of affordable housing, that would help to ensure that some of that housing that is being added, some of that supply that is being added, it would help shape that to directly meet some of the housing needs," Doucet said.

Parker, however, argues against the approach of making one unit affordable because it could "create an additional barrier to construction."

"We want to incentivize residents to build," Parker said.

That said, Parker suggests "we can incentivize affordability," such as when the Region of Waterloo provided forgivable loans of up to $25,000 for households to add a duplex or secondary unit.

"The big threats are finance. When we see right now incredibly high interest rates that's limiting family households or residents' ability to borrow [money] for new construction and it's similarly limiting opportunities for developers. So we really need to find non-profit finance channels directly targeted toward this missing middle," she said.

Next steps in Kitchener, Guelph

The move by Kitchener council was applauded by federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who posted X that "if you see a member of Kitchener's council or [Mayor Berry Vrbanovic] ... give them a high five" because they voted "in favour of doing their part to solve Canada's housing crisis."

"This is the municipal leadership we need," Fraser wrote.

Fourplexes are not allowed in Kitchener just yet. The next step is for staff to develop a bylaw to permit fourplexes. Vrbanovic said that process will include a chance for people to offer their input and staff will also look at best practices from other municipalities across the country.

Vrbanovic says he expects staff to bring the bylaw back to council in early 2024.

Guelph's city council discussed housing at a special council meeting on Tuesday.

As part of that meeting, there were 17 recommendations on how the city can move forward on housing in the city. Included in that, recommendation number 12, asks staff to immediately prepare a zoning bylaw amendment to permit up to four residential units per lot within residential zones where currently three residential units per lot are permitted.

The fourplexes recommendation was approved by council. In a video posted to X after the meeting, Guthrie said now, city staff will work on a zoning bylaw and he expects it will come back before council "early in the new year" and the process will include public consultations.

"Because things are getting worse out there with housing, council unanimously said you know what, we've got to do this four units as-of-right, we've got to do it as quickly as possible," Guthrie said.

Give me shelter: The hunt for housing in Waterloo region is a series by CBC Kitchener-Waterloo that hears from the people struggling to secure the housing they want and need. They might be making do with non-traditional housing: a tent, a room shared with multiple people or their parents' basement. We look at how the basic need for housing is not being met for many people in a rapidly growing region of Ontario.