MLI Select universal design multi-family Alberta

If you are weighing MLI Select universal design for a multi-family project in Alberta, the key decision is how much of the building to design to universal design principles. CMHC offers several routes. This guide explains each one, what CMHC asks you to prove, where universal design sits next to accessible and visitable design, and the questions to settle with your design team before drawings are final.

For the full step-by-step process, start with our MLI Select accessibility requirements checklist.

Last updated: October 14, 2026. This article reflects CMHC’s MLI Select page, dated September 21, 2026.

What universal design means

CMHC describes universal design as building environments that people of any age, size, or ability can access, understand, and use, while accounting for needs that change over time. CMHC also presents it as a way to let residents stay in their homes as circumstances change without costly renovations.

The idea has a well-known framework. The seven Principles of Universal Design were developed in 1997 by a working group at the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University:

1. Equitable use: useful to people with varied abilities without singling anyone out.
2. Flexibility in use: accommodates different preferences and abilities.
3. Simple and intuitive use: easy to understand regardless of experience or language.
4. Perceptible information: essential information reaches people through more than one channel.
5. Tolerance for error: reduces hazards and the consequences of mistakes.
6. Low physical effort: can be used comfortably with minimal fatigue.
7. Size and space for approach and use: enough room and reach for different body sizes, postures, and mobility.

These principles are a general design framework. CMHC’s MLI Select criteria use their own program standard, covered below.

Universal, accessible, and visitable design: how they relate

CMHC’s visitability publication (2016) frames the three terms as a hierarchy. Universal design is the broadest. Accessible design is a more focused application of universal design for people with specific disabilities. Visitability is a narrower baseline that builds basic access into ordinary housing.

CMHC’s universal design guide and eligibility table

CMHC publishes a Universal Design Guide for new multi-unit residential buildings, written for designers, builders, and developers. Its scope is new buildings with single-level units, from low-rise to high-rise, with common areas and entrances. According to CMHC’s landing page, it excludes single-detached, semi-detached, and row houses, stacked townhouses, and units that have multiple levels. If your product is a multi-level or townhouse-style rental, check with CMHC whether the guide’s scope fits.

CMHC also links a Universal Design Minimum Eligibility Requirements Table. CMHC says the table outlines eligibility standards for its housing programs and that these may differ from other interpretations of universal design. This article does not summarize the table. Ask CMHC or your lender to confirm that it is the benchmark for the MLI Select universal design route, and give it to your architect.

The MLI Select attestation itself relies on a signature. CMHC’s documentation guide asks an architect or designated accessibility consultant to confirm that the building and 100% of the units comply with universal design principles, where your route requires it.

Where universal design sits in CMHC’s points table

Universal design appears in three of the accessibility routes. All of them also require 100% of units to be visitable and all common areas to be barrier-free under CSA B651:23.

The other Level 2 routes are 100% accessible units under CSA B651:23, or Rick Hansen Foundation Gold certification. Our guide to CMHC’s barrier-free standards covers those.

Choosing a route: the decision questions

Also ask how CMHC counts a unit that qualifies as both accessible and universal design. That detail matters most for the combined Level 2 route.

Unit-count planner for universal design routes

CMHC states percentages, not rounding rules. This table rounds up, which is the cautious planning assumption. Confirm rounding with CMHC or your lender.

Universal design for Alberta multi-family projects

CMHC’s accessibility criteria are national, and its page lists no province-specific accessibility rules. An Alberta building is evaluated against the same table as one anywhere else in Canada.

What is local is the permitting. According to the Government of Alberta, the National Building Code – 2023 Alberta Edition is the code in force, declared in force May 1, 2024. Your design is reviewed by the local building authority under that code, while the CMHC attestation covers CSA B651:23 and universal design principles. Ask your architect to map both together so the drawings satisfy each.

The criteria also appear in CMHC’s existing-property table. If you plan to renovate an existing Alberta building, the retrofit scope becomes a design-team question. Settle your route before design development, because changes after drawings are final are harder to document.

If you are a buyer in a pre-construction project, ask the developer which level they are targeting, which route they chose, and whether the signed attestation is complete. Our list of MLI Select projects in Calgary shows what is currently available, and our Alberta Building Code overview adds context.

Worked example (hypothetical numbers)

Imagine a 24-unit rental building. This is an illustration only.

• Level 1 through universal design: 15% of 24 is 3.6, and you cannot build 0.6 of a unit, so plan for at least 4 units. Confirm rounding with CMHC.
• Level 2 through the combined route: at least 4 accessible units and 85% universal design, which is 20.4, so at least 21 units.
• Level 2 through full universal design: all 24 units.

Accessibility alone tops out at 30 points, and MLI Select needs at least 50 in total. The rest must come from affordability or energy points. See our property scoring guide.

Questions to ask your consultant

• Which document will we use to show compliance with universal design principles, and does it match CMHC’s eligibility table?
• Can every unit plan meet those principles, or only some?
• How will accessible units and universal design units be counted if they overlap?
• What will the sample unit design in the application package show?
• Does our building type fall within CMHC’s universal design guide scope?

Frequently asked questions

Does universal design earn MLI Select accessibility points?

Yes. CMHC awards 20 points when at least 15% of units are universal design, and 30 points for 100% universal design or for 15% accessible units plus 85% universal design.

How much universal design do I need for MLI Select?

The thresholds are 15%, 85% (combined with 15% accessible units), or 100% of units, depending on whether you target 20 or 30 points.

Is universal design enough on its own?

No. Every unit must also be 100% visitable and all common areas barrier-free under CSA B651:23. Accessibility points are also capped at 30, so you need affordability or energy points to reach the 50-point minimum.

Does CMHC define universal design?

CMHC describes universal design as environments that people of any age, size, or ability can access, understand, and use, with needs that change over time in mind. For program eligibility, CMHC points to a separate Universal Design Minimum Eligibility Requirements Table.

What is the difference between universal design and accessible design?

In CMHC’s visitability publication, universal design is the broadest approach, and accessible design is a more focused application for specific disability needs. MLI Select counts them as separate routes.

Does this apply to existing buildings in Alberta?

Yes. CMHC states MLI Select incentives are available for new construction and existing properties, and the same accessibility criteria appear in both tables.

Who confirms that my units meet the criteria?

An architect or a designated accessibility consultant signs the attestation, which is submitted at the time of application.

Sources

• CMHC: MLI Select (page dated September 21, 2026)
• CMHC: MLI Select Accessibility Criteria Attestation (PDF)
• CMHC: MLI Select Required Documentation Guide (PDF)
• CMHC: Universal Design for New Multi-Unit Residential Buildings
• CMHC: Accessible Housing by Design: Visitability (2016, PDF)
• NC State Center for Universal Design: The Principles of Universal Design
• Government of Alberta: Codes in force

This article is general information, not legal, tax, financial, or architectural advice. MLI Select terms are set by CMHC and may change. Confirm current requirements with CMHC, an approved lender, and a qualified professional before making decisions.

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