New Amendments to Foreign Buyer Ban Regulations

Posted on April 6th, 2023 in Construction & Real Estate

Home construction, wooden roof structure against the sky as the backdrop

On March 27, 2023, the Federal Government announced that they are amending some of the problematic aspects of the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act’s associated Regulations, which we highlighted in an earlier article: New Regulations Prohibit Builders/Developers with Whole or Partial Foreign Ownership from Purchasing Canadian Residential Property.

The government has amended the Regulation to include an exception that allows for all entities, including those with some foreign ownership, to purchase residential property for the purpose of development, which will now enable all business entities in Canada, regardless of ownership structure, to contribute to increasing Canada’s housing supply.

The announcement also repeals section 3(2) of the Regulations. This section formerly prohibited Canadian entities with more than 3% foreign ownership from buying vacant land for residential development, thereby negatively impacting many Canadian-based business entities from contributing to the much-needed housing supply for Canadians. Vacant land zoned for residential and mixed-use can now be purchased and used for any purpose by the purchaser, including residential development.

Other changes announced today include increasing the foreign ownership threshold to 10% from 3%, though this threshold will no longer be an issue for builders/developers/renovators looking to add to Canada’s housing supply given the previous changes listed above.

Read the government’s full announcement.