Canada & Ontario mortgage rule watch
See verified rules, programs and important dates without confusing a regulator’s role with an individual lender’s approval policy.
Find the answer from your problem
Choose one clear starting point. Narrow the results by status, topic or client type afterward.
Start here
Clear status labels prevent an announcement or proposal from being mistaken for a rule already in force.
Newest relevant date first
269 published items match this view. We prioritize the effective date, then the announcement or last-update date.
An excess FHSA amount can generally attract a 1% tax per month on the highest excess amount for that month until the excess is eliminated.
The general FHSA limit is $8,000 of new participation room per year and $40,000 over a lifetime. Unused room can carry forward, but the carryforward is generally capped at $8,000.
No. FHSA participation room starts only when you open your first FHSA. Waiting does not quietly accumulate room in the background the way many buyers expect.
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 $40,000, but the account, contribution room,…
No. Up to $50,000 is the qualifying-expenditure ceiling for an eligible renovation—not the cheque amount. The refundable credit is a percentage of eligible costs and the rate can depend on the tax year.
Potentially. For dispositions after 2022, profit on a residential property held for fewer than 365 consecutive days is generally deemed business income unless a legislated life-event exception applies.
No. Ontario NRST exemptions and rebates have specific purchaser, spouse, immigration, occupancy, registration, documentation and deadline conditions. Expecting future status does not by itself remove tax at closing.
Ontario’s NRST is generally a 25% tax on certain residential-property acquisitions by foreign nationals, foreign corporations and taxable trustees. Citizenship, permanent-resident status, ownership structure and exemptions must be checked before the offer becomes firm.
Generally, yes. CRA says all assignment sales of newly constructed or substantially renovated residential housing are taxable for GST/HST purposes when the agreement is entered into after May 6, 2022.
Yes. Toronto says an undeclared property can be deemed vacant, the tax forms a lien on the property and a purchaser can become responsible. Buyers and sellers should address the declaration and tax status…
For uninsured mortgages at federally regulated lenders, the prescribed qualifying rate remains the greater of the contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%, subject to the straight-switch renewal exception.
No. Some units first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018 are exempt from the annual rent-increase guideline, but other Residential Tenancies Act rules can still apply.
Ontario’s standard lease is required for most residential tenancies signed on or after April 30, 2018, and the landlord must give the tenant a copy within 21 days after signing.
Not always. Ontario’s first-time-homebuyer land-transfer-tax refund is capped at $4,000. It can eliminate provincial land transfer tax on a lower-priced home, but a buyer owes any amount above the refund.
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.
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 confirm eligibility before it is included…
Yes. A principal-residence sale must generally be reported and the property designated on Schedule 3 and Form T2091(IND), even when the exemption is expected to eliminate the gain.
How to read this centre
Sets laws, program requirements or prudential boundaries. FSRA regulates; it does not write every lender’s underwriting policy.
Applies only when the mortgage or client fits that insured product or program. It should not be generalized to every conventional deal.
Decides its own acceptable income, property, credit and exception policy inside the applicable rules.
Mortgage rule second opinion
Share the change you are concerned about, your timing and the client problem. Rajiv can help separate the confirmed rule from assumptions and identify questions worth exploring across A, alternative/B, MIC or private lending where appropriate.