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Is Generational Multiplex the Next Vancouver Special?

By Louis NguyenJuly 23, 2025Updated October 17, 2026

Many Vancouver families want grandparents, parents and children to live close together. A single house on a single lot can make that hard, because each household needs its own space and its own routine.

A multiplex can solve it. In this post we explain why multi-generational families are looking at multiplexes, what Statistics Canada says about how common this way of living is, and which provincial law made it possible to build more than one home on a house lot. We compare the idea to the Vancouver Special in a separate post, The Vancouver Special Then and Now.

How Common Is Living With Three Generations?

Statistics Canada defines a multigenerational household as one where at least three generations of the same family live together, such as grandparents, parents and children. Its article Living under one roof reports that just under 2.4 million Canadians lived in one in 2021. There were 441,750 such households, which is 2.9% of all private households in Canada and 8.6% more than in 2016.

In British Columbia the share was 3.7% of households. Statistics Canada gives two main reasons families choose this: to save money and to care for aging parents. Both reasons are familiar to the families we meet in Metro Vancouver.

What a Multiplex Gives Each Generation

A multiplex is several homes on one lot. Each home has its own front door, its own kitchen and its own bathroom. For a family this means that grandparents, parents and children share a property and keep separate households.

The layout we plan most often follows the same idea. The grandparents live on the ground floor, with no stairs between the front door, the bedroom and the bathroom. The young family lives on the floors above. The children grow up one floor away from their grandparents, and each household closes its own door at night. We describe this plan floor by floor in Designing a Multiplex for Three Generations in Vancouver, including the BC Building Code rules that apply to each floor.

Our We Killarney Townhomes project is a six-unit multiplex in Vancouver, and it shows this type of planning in a finished building.

The Law That Made It Possible

Until recently, most Vancouver house lots allowed one house, or a duplex. Adding more homes usually meant asking the City to rezone the lot, which takes time and money. A provincial law changed that. The BC small-scale multi-unit housing law, which began with Bill 44 in 2023, requires cities to allow more homes on lots that used to allow only a house or a duplex.

The Province's page on small-scale, multi-unit housing lists the home types it has in mind: secondary suites inside a house, laneway homes and garden suites, triplexes, townhomes and house-plexes. The law sets the minimum, and each city's zoning bylaw sets the rest, so the number of homes allowed on your lot depends on its size and its location.

Two Costar posts go through the details. What Every BC City Must Now Allow explains the provincial rules. Multiplex Zoning and Permits in Vancouver explains how they apply to a Vancouver lot.

What Homeowners Can Do First

Start with the lot. Find your zoning, your lot size and the distance to the nearest frequent bus route, and compare them with your city's bylaw. Those three facts decide how many homes the lot may hold.

Then decide who will live in each home. A family that plans for grandparents on the ground floor makes different choices from a family that plans to rent two of the homes. The cost guide for a Vancouver multiplex explains what each choice adds to the budget.

Costar won Best Multiplex Home at the 2024 Georgie Awards, given by the Canadian Home Builders' Association of BC, for the project It Takes Two. We offer a complimentary one-hour project consultation to homeowners who are looking at a multiplex, to check the lot and talk through the plan.

Rendering of a three-storey multiplex with gabled roofs, grey siding and a shared garden

Frequently asked questions

Why do multiplex homes suit multi-generational families?

A multiplex puts several homes on one lot, and each home has its own front door, kitchen and bathroom. Grandparents, parents and children can live a few steps apart and still keep their own space and their own routines. Costar plans these homes so the grandparents' home has no stairs and the family lives on the floors above.

How many Canadians live in a multigenerational household?

Statistics Canada counted 441,750 multigenerational households in Canada in 2021, which is 2.9% of all private households and 8.6% more than in 2016. Just under 2.4 million Canadians lived in one. In British Columbia the share was higher, at 3.7% of households. Statistics Canada defines the term as three or more generations of one family in a home.

Which law change made multiplex building easier in British Columbia?

The BC small-scale multi-unit housing law, which started with Bill 44 in 2023, requires cities to allow more than one home on lots that used to allow only a house or a duplex. The Province lists secondary suites, laneway homes, triplexes, townhomes and house-plexes as the types it has in mind. Your city's bylaw sets the exact number for your lot.

Can a family build a multiplex on the lot it already owns?

A homeowner whose lot is covered by the BC small-scale housing law can apply to build more than one home on it without a rezoning, which used to be the long step. The number of homes depends on lot size and location, so the first step is a check of the lot against your city's bylaw. Costar offers a free one-hour consultation to do that.

Which floor should grandparents live on in a multiplex?

Costar puts the grandparents on the ground floor, because a home with no stairs between the front door, the bedroom and the bathroom is easier for someone with limited mobility. The young family lives above. The post on designing a multiplex for three generations explains this plan floor by floor, with the BC Building Code rules that apply to each floor.

Did Costar win an award for a multiplex project?

Yes. Costar Construction won Best Multiplex Home at the 2024 Georgie Awards, held on May 25, 2024 in Vancouver and organized by the Canadian Home Builders' Association of BC (CHBA BC). The CHBA BC winners news release names the project It Takes Two, built with the associate company Design Work Group Ltd.

What does Costar offer to homeowners who are thinking about a multiplex?

Costar offers a complimentary one-hour project consultation to homeowners who are considering a multiplex. The meeting is for checking the lot and talking through the plan, with no obligation, and you can book it on the Costar website. Costar won Best Multiplex Home at the 2024 Georgie Awards, given by the Canadian Home Builders' Association of BC, for the project It Takes Two.

Where can I read the costs and rules for a Vancouver multiplex?

Costar has published separate guides for each question. The cost guide covers what drives construction cost, land, soft costs and the city fees added on top. The zoning guide covers Vancouver's R1-1 rules and permits. The provincial law guide covers what every BC city must allow. Each guide lists the City or Province pages it was written from, with the date they were read.

Sources

Living under one roof: What data say about multigenerational households in Canada Statistics Canada, October 17, 2026
Small-scale, multi-unit housing Province of British Columbia, October 17, 2026
2024 Georgie Awards winners news release CHBA BC, May 27, 2024

Keep reading

November 9, 2026

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Is Generational Multiplex the Next Vancouver Special?

How Common Is Living With Three Generations?

What a Multiplex Gives Each Generation

The Law That Made It Possible

What Homeowners Can Do First

Frequently asked questions

Why do multiplex homes suit multi-generational families?

How many Canadians live in a multigenerational household?

Which law change made multiplex building easier in British Columbia?

Can a family build a multiplex on the lot it already owns?

Which floor should grandparents live on in a multiplex?

Did Costar win an award for a multiplex project?

What does Costar offer to homeowners who are thinking about a multiplex?

Where can I read the costs and rules for a Vancouver multiplex?

Sources

BC's 20% Foreign Buyer Tax and New Multiplex Homes in Vancouver: Why We Think Families Should Be Exempt

Radon in Vancouver Homes: How to Test, and How to Build It Out of a New House or Multiplex

Architect or Building Designer? Who Can Design Your Vancouver House or Multiplex

Create your dream home. Tell us about your project today.

How Common Is Living With Three Generations?

What a Multiplex Gives Each Generation

The Law That Made It Possible

What Homeowners Can Do First