New amendments have been announced by the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen for The Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act. These amendments came into force on March 27, 2023.
The changes are a welcome sign for temporary foreign workers in Canada. The new amendments include the following:
- Allow individuals who hold a work permit or are authorized to work in Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to purchase residential property.
- Individuals must have 183 days or more of validity remaining on their work permit or work authorization at the time of purchase and cannot purchase more than one residential property.
- Remove prohibition on vacant lands zoned for residential and mixed use.
- Create an exception for non-Canadians to purchase residential property for the purposes of development.
- Increase the threshold with regards to privately held corporations or privately held entities.
- The control threshold has increased from 3% to 10%, aligned with the definition of ‘specified Canadian Corporation’ in the Underused Housing Tax Act.
Foreign workers serve as an important part of Canada’s economy. The ability for them to purchase residential property is vital to attracting the best talent from around the world. Foreign investors represent a small fraction of Canadian real estate purchases, and foreign workers with work permits a smaller fraction.
