Since in this blog we are discussing tax rules, I would strongly suggest you to get the advice from a qualified tax specialist. What prompted us to write a blog on the subject is frequent misinformation posted on various popular online forums stating that one must reside in the property for 1 year or more in order to qualify for the hst new construction rebate. Before we get to it let’s quickly recap what is the new construction hst rebate, and how it works in Ontario. A... [read more]

February 2024 update. The 2 year foreign buyer ban originally introduced in 2022 has been extended until 2027. Original post. As we are nearing the end of 2022 we will be faced with new regulations coming to life as of January 1, 2023, one of them is a temporary 2 year foreign buyer ban. The temporary ban is introduced with the intent of making housing more affordable for Canadian residents. Any contractual obligations arising from the contracts signed prior to January 1, 2023 will... [read more]

First Home Savings Account (FHSA) was first announced in 2022 and is finally available as of April 1, 2023. In this article we will summarize the main aspects of this program and go into details further down, if you have a question that hasn’t been answered just drop us a line. As a general comment, the federal government has been recently introducing other programs such as The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive which flopped miserably and gained almost no traction, on the other hand... [read more]

A buyer of a condominium was hit with a $34,000 special assessment shortly after purchasing a condominium and the judge ruled the buyer is exempt from paying his share because the possibly of the special assessment wasn’t properly disclosed in the status certificate.   The case of Adam Bruce v Waterloo North Condominium Corporation No. 26, they buyer Adam Bruce purchased a condominium in 2021. The buyer received the status certificate package including the status certificate... [read more]

In an effort to minimize the deficit the municipality of Toronto is introducing or proposing multiple measures to combat the deficit, one of them will be additional thresholds of the land transfer tax for residential properties selling at $3M or more starting January 1, 2024. Residential properties affected by it are defined as single family residences with no more than 2 residential units. The graduated municipal land transfer  for high value residential properties will be as... [read more]