Ontario first-time home buyer rules
Mortgage qualification, down-payment programs, rebates and closing benefits do not all use the same definition of a first-time buyer. Choose where you are now and see the guidance that applies next.
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First-time buyer library
29 published items
Be careful. RRSP contributions made in the 89-day period before an HBP withdrawal may not be deductible when the post-withdrawal RRSP value is insufficient to support the contribution.
Open practical guidance →Contact the lawyer, Realtor and Rajiv immediately. Identify whether the delay is administrative, documentary, lender-related or a genuine financing failure before discussing an extension, bridge arrangement or emergency…
Open practical guidance →The lawyer needs the purchase documents, lender instructions, identification, insurance evidence and cleared client funds in time to complete the legal closing. Mortgage approval alone does not deliver…
Open practical guidance →Plan for the lender to lend against the lower acceptable value, not automatically the purchase price. Before making the offer firm, understand the cash shortfall, reconsideration evidence, lender…
Open practical guidance →Avoid unnecessary job changes, new credit, financed purchases, missed payments and unexplained money movements between approval and closing. If a change is unavoidable, tell Rajiv before acting so…
Open practical guidance →No mortgage is guaranteed merely because the file is described as complete. “Lender-complete” should mean the stated lender conditions have been satisfied, but funding can still depend on…
Open practical guidance →Treat them as three connected deadlines. The offer deposit is usually due under the purchase agreement, the lender needs an acceptable down-payment trail during underwriting, and the lawyer…
Open practical guidance →Yes. Borrower approval and property approval are separate. A lender or insurer may question value, condition, location, legal use, marketability, condo information or property type even when the…
Open practical guidance →Use the condition period to obtain and review the live lender decision instead of merely resending the pre-approval. The borrower, property, appraisal, insurer and outstanding documents may all…
Open practical guidance →Send the listing, proposed price, taxes, condo fees, intended use, offer deadline and closing date before the offer becomes firm. A borrower pre-approval cannot confirm an unseen property.
Open practical guidance →Know the comfortable payment, tested price range, available cash and unresolved approval risks before viewing. A calculator or quick pre-qualification is not enough when an attractive property creates…
Open practical guidance →Yes. CRA permits an eligible buyer to make an FHSA qualifying withdrawal and an HBP withdrawal for the same qualifying home when all conditions for each program are…
Open practical guidance →There is no single first-time-buyer test for every mortgage, tax and rebate program. A person can qualify under one program and fail another, so check the definition before…
Open practical guidance →CMHC expanded mortgage-insurance options for eligible prefabricated, modular and manufactured homes in May 2026, but the property, land, construction contract and lender still have to fit the program.
Open practical guidance →Ontario’s temporary enhanced new-housing relief can materially reduce HST for eligible agreements signed from April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027, but the buyer, property, price, occupancy or…
Open practical guidance →Ontario’s temporary enhanced new housing rebate is broader than a first-time-buyer program. For qualifying builder agreements from April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027, it can provide up…
Open practical guidance →The agreement, construction, ownership and application dates all matter. For a builder purchase, the agreement generally must be on or after March 20, 2025, and the rebate application…
Open practical guidance →The Home Buyers’ Plan currently permits an eligible person to withdraw up to $60,000 from their own RRSPs for a qualifying home. It is not free money: repayments…
Open practical guidance →Ontario’s first-time home buyer rebate is now available and can provide up to $80,000 of relief from the 8% provincial part of HST for an eligible first home.…
Open practical guidance →Applications are open. An eligible first-time buyer of a new or substantially renovated home can recover up to 100% of the federal GST or federal part of HST,…
Open practical guidance →It may. The federal insured-mortgage definition includes a relationship-breakdown pathway, but that does not automatically create eligibility under the FHSA, HBP, GST/HST rebate or Ontario land-transfer-tax refund.
Open practical guidance →The federal minimum on a $1.2 million purchase is $95,000: 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the remaining $700,000, provided the mortgage and property qualify for…
Open practical guidance →Yes, a qualifying first-time buyer can apply for a 30-year amortization on an insured mortgage. It can reduce the required payment, but it may increase total interest and…
Open practical guidance →The statutory minimum is generally 5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the portion above $500,000 when the purchase price is below $1.5 million. At $1.5 million…
Open practical guidance →Usually yes. The longer amortization can reduce the required payment, but CMHC applies a 20-basis-point insurance-premium surcharge to eligible 30-year insured mortgages, and slower principal repayment can increase…
Open practical guidance →For a first HBP withdrawal made from 2022 through 2025, temporary relief generally delays the start of the 15-year repayment period until the fifth year after the withdrawal…
Open practical guidance →An FHSA can combine a tax deduction for eligible contributions with a tax-free qualifying withdrawal. The first year’s participation room is $8,000 and the general lifetime limit is…
Open practical guidance →An Ontario first-time-buyer refund application generally must be received within 18 months of the conveyance or disposition. The maximum provincial refund is $4,000 for qualifying transactions.
Open practical guidance →Yes. Ontario’s land-transfer-tax refund has spouse-related rules, so “I personally never owned” is not always enough. The maximum refund is $4,000 for qualifying transactions, but the lawyer should…
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First-home mortgage strategy
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