What Are the Steps to Build a Multiplex in Vancouver, and How Long Does It Take?

The City's multiplex page defines a multiplex as 3 to 8 homes in one or more buildings on a single site, each with its own outside entrance. It lists the zones where one is allowed, including R1-1, RT-7, RT-9, and the R3, R4 and R5 zones. For R1-1 lots, see how many homes fit on your lot.

The City also asks you to check early whether the site sits on an artesian well or aquifer, has an underground fuel tank, contains a protected archaeological site, or is in the Japanese beetle regulated area. It recommends hiring a residential designer or architect to prepare the plans and get the permits.

Three things come before the application, so start them during design:

You apply online through the City's Development and Business Services website. A multiplex needs 1 development permit, 1 building permit per building, and 1 demolition permit if you are taking down an existing building. The City says to apply for the development permit first and the building permits later. When every building on the site has 1 or 2 homes and the site is outside First Shaughnessy, you may apply for all the permits together.

Once the application is complete, the City contacts you to pay fees. After review by its staff teams, it sends a list of conditions to address and any amounts owing, such as Development Cost Levies, Development Cost Charges and damage deposits. Then it issues the permits with the approved drawings.

Once the building permits are issued, work can begin, and it must begin within 6 months or the permit becomes invalid. Trade permits for plumbing, electrical, gas and fire sprinklers are applied for separately. During construction, keep a printed copy of the permit and a full-size set of the approved drawings on site, and book City inspections at each stage. When the building is done, you apply for occupancy permits.

On our side, the build follows the five stages on our process page: design and planning, pre-construction, construction, handover and warranty. Our construction manager checks completed work against the plans before the next stage starts, and we come back for inspections at 3, 6 and 12 months after handover.

The City's news release of June 9, 2026 says its streamlined Development Building Permit process for certain multiplexes cut processing times by 50%. The release states that cut as a percentage and lists the times the City measured for other kinds of homes, shown below. vancouver.ca blocks automated reading, so we read the copy the Internet Archive saved on October 31, 2026.

These are City review times only. The design work comes before them, and the building comes after.

In our experience, review time depends on the City's workload and on how complete your drawings are, and building time depends on the number of homes, the soil, the weather and the decisions you make on finishes. A schedule from a builder should name each stage, its expected length and what has to happen before the next stage starts. Ask for it in writing, and ask what it assumes.