What is a ‘fourplex’ and could it help Canada’s housing crisis?

Experts believe the 'fourplex' may be the answer to many of Canada's housing woes. The problem, though, is that fourplexes are illegal to build in most of Canada.

Kelly Singh, 32, says she’s “as Mississauga as they come.”

She grew up in the Toronto suburb and hopes to make her life there, but as Canada’s housing crisis worsens, she has seen her community change rapidly.

“Many of my friends who grew up in my community, who grew up the same way I did, have had to leave. They would love to come back, but they simply don’t have that choice,” she said.

In addition to housing prices skyrocketing in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in the last few years, Singh said new homebuyers have very few choices in terms of what kind of house they want to live in. Outside of buying a single-family home, which can cost upwards of a million dollars, or a condo in a tower, there isn’t much else to purchase.

Last week, a proposal before Mississauga city council aimed to change that and offer more options to homebuyers. The motion, which called for more four-unit housing, or ‘fourplexes,’ to be built around rapid transit stops, was voted down by council.

Singh, a housing advocate with the group More Housing Mississauga, was among those who deputed before council in favour of the motion. She said the outcome was “disappointing.”

“While council was presented with a lot of good data that supported the value of fourplex housing in Mississauga, the councillors voted against the motion. They did not reject it based on a data-based response. Their rejection was on the desire for more consultation. It was repeatedly pointed out to them there will be ample time for public consultation as part of this second phase.”

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser both expressed their disappointment as well.