To address the housing demand and increase housing affordability, the federal government announced on October 8th, 2024 new initiatives to utilize the many vacant and underused properties in Canada, including federal government owned land. This is another step (outlined in the 2024 Budget) towards their goal of building 4 million homes by 2031.

MORTGAGE REFINANCING FOR SECONDARY SUITES - Effective January 15, 2025

• Ability to refinance an insured mortgage for the purpose of secondary suites (up to 3 additional units on a primary residence or second home) 
• Access to financing of up to 90% of the home value (inclusive of secondary suite value)
• Ability to refinance with a 30 year amortization
• Insured home price cap of $2 million
• Constructed suites must be legal, see Nanaimo guidelines (many municipalities have similar guidelines)
• See more parameters HERE 

*Many details and logistics need to be sorted and we will continue to update as our lenders, insurers and governing bodies disclose more information

CONSULTATION ON VACANT LAND TAX

• The federal government is seeking input from stakeholders and provincial / territorial / municipal governing bodies on taxing vacant land.
• A vacant land tax is to encourage landowners to develop housing or list the property.
• View more information or submit feedback HERE

UNLOCKING FEDERAL PROPERTIES FOR HOUSING

• 14 additional federal properties have been added to the Canada Public Land Bank for a total of 70 federal properties available to developers.
• The government aims to convert unused or underused federal properties into 250,000 new homes.

FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE

OAC, E&O