Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
When the City of Vancouver approved duplexes on single family zoned properties in 2018, more than 450 property owners applied for the re-zoning in the first couple of years, according to City of Vancouver stats. When the City approved six unit multiplexes, the number of applications increased.
According to a City of Vancouver report, “Between multiplexes, duplexes, coach homes, and townhouses, the city approved over 1,260 ground-oriented homes across low-density neighbourhoods, with municipal targets continuously being surpassed.”
The zoning changes upped the value of properties and that increase makes upscaling from single-family home to multiples attractive to landowners who see a potential windfall in their property values. According to “VanPlex,” a Vancouver property-tech company, values of re-zoned properties grew by 25 to 50 percent.
“It’s an appealing idea to convert your single family home into a multiplex – that is, until you set out to navigate your way through the city’s regulatory labyrinth,” says Bettina Balcaen of Studio Balcaen Kwan, an architectural firm that has developed a road map through a maze of regulations that can make these new homes unliveable.
We invited Bettina Balcaen and Tillie Kwan to join us for a Conversation That Matters about what you need to know before you decide to tear down your house and build a duplex or multiplex.
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Your support matters! Become a patron and subscribe: goo.gl/ypXyDs
The views discussed in this video are the opinions of our guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Oh Boy Productions or this show. Any images in this video are for fair use only, as we are a journalism outlet that seeks to illustrate the topic or guest involved.
ctm617 #multiplex #housing #vancouver
When the City of Vancouver approved duplexes on single family zoned properties in 2018, more than 450 property owners applied for the re-zoning in the first couple of years, according to City of Vancouver stats. When the City approved six unit multiplexes, the number of applications increased.
According to a City of Vancouver report, “Between multiplexes, duplexes, coach homes, and townhouses, the city approved over 1,260 ground-oriented homes across low-density neighbourhoods, with municipal targets continuously being surpassed.”
The zoning changes upped the value of properties and that increase makes upscaling from single-family home to multiples attractive to landowners who see a potential windfall in their property values. According to “VanPlex,” a Vancouver property-tech company, values of re-zoned properties grew by 25 to 50 percent.
“It’s an appealing idea to convert your single family home into a multiplex – that is, until you set out to navigate your way through the city’s regulatory labyrinth,” says Bettina Balcaen of Studio Balcaen Kwan, an architectural firm that has developed a road map through a maze of regulations that can make these new homes unliveable.
We invited Bettina Balcaen and Tillie Kwan to join us for a Conversation That Matters about what you need to know before you decide to tear down your house and build a duplex or multiplex.
---
Your support matters! Become a patron and subscribe: goo.gl/ypXyDs
The views discussed in this video are the opinions of our guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Oh Boy Productions or this show. Any images in this video are for fair use only, as we are a journalism outlet that seeks to illustrate the topic or guest involved.
ctm617 #multiplex #housing #vancouver
