Data · Toronto
Laneway suites, by the numbers.
Toronto's gentle-density policy has its own work class in the permit record, which makes it one of the few housing-policy questions that can be answered by counting rather than arguing.
Laneway and rear-yard suites are 0.7% of Toronto's issued permits and 0.5% of its dwelling units. That is the honest scale of the policy in the permit record as it stands.
What the number means, and what it does not
A permit is not a finished home. This counts suites that have been permitted, not suites that have been built, occupied or rented — the gap between those is real and this dataset cannot close it.
Declared construction value is also a filing figure, not a final cost. It is useful for comparing categories against each other in the same record; it is not a construction estimate.
What it does establish is the order of magnitude, from the primary record rather than from an advocacy or industry summary — and that number moves every week as new permits are issued.
Source
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Toronto. Derived from the Building Permits – Active Permits dataset published by the City of Toronto under the Open Government Licence – Toronto. Figures on this page count issued permits only. Last refreshed 30 July 2026; most recent permit issued 28 July 2026.