A safe, quality home for all

Why is it important to allow up to four dwellings per lot?

Like everywhere else in the country, it’s becoming harder to find a place to live, and housing is getting more expensive. To help address this, gentle densification is being proposed. In other words, it’s a way to add housing within existing residential areas.

A growing problem

The approach could, for example, allow you to convert your single-family home into a multi-generational home, provided your lot is large enough.

• Housing shortage:
  • It’s becoming difficult to find a place to live.
• Soaring costs:
  • Rents and home prices are rising rapidly.

The solution: gentle densification

The approach would allow up to four dwellings on a single residential lot.

For example: A house with a small apartment in the basement, an apartment above the garage, or a secondary unit in the yard (such as a garden suite).

Why is the municipality considering allowing up to four units?

In response to the housing crisis, the City of Dieppe has made a commitment to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) under the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to allow up to four housing units per residential lot.

Many other municipalities, such as Moncton and Fredericton, have already adopted this approach.

Why now?

The City must update its zoning by-law by the end of 2025 to meet the requirements of the HAF. Access to other federal housing funds may depend on this change.

What will this mean for my neighbourhood?

Allowing up to four housing units in low-density residential areas is one of CMHC’s preferred strategies to increase the number of available housing units, especially rentals.

This measure will help address the major challenges associated with significant population growth, including:

• Increasing housing availability and accessibility
• Stabilizing prices in the residential rental market

To meet the City’s commitment to allow up to four housing units per residential lot, City staff have developed an approach that respects the existing character of neighbourhoods, aligns with the principles and directions of the municipal development plan, ensures efficient parking management, and minimizes tree cutting.

The approach also incorporates feedback received from residents at the Growth Forum, the open house and through the June 2025 survey.