Foreign Buyer Ownership Changes

Earlier this week, the Government of Canada announced a series of amendments to the Foreign Buyer Ban. These amendments expand the exceptions to the regulations, are effective immediately, as of March 27, 2023, and are as follows:

The Foreign Buyer Ban no longer applies to work permit holders. Now, those who hold a work permit or are authorized to work in Canada are allowed to purchase residential property.  This exception will apply so long as the permit holders have 183 days of validity, or more, remaining on their permit, and have not purchased more than one residential property.

The Foreign Buyer Ban allows non-Canadians to purchase residential property for the purpose of development. Note that this will likely not include leasing or renting the property out to tenants or otherwise managing property as a rental property as part of a portfolio. Also, repairs, renovations and remodeling do not count as “development”, only expansions or remodels that are equivalent to constructing a new building or changing the use of a property.

The Foreign Buyer Ban no longer applies to Vacant Land. Non-Canadians can now purchase vacant land zoned for residential use and use it for any purpose.

The Foreign Control Threshold is now 10%. Previously, an entity was deemed foreign if non-Canadians owned 3% or more of it. With the amendment, the maximum amount of non-Canadian control is 10%