Housing

This report outlines a model developed to project the number of households in core housing need.

This report provides an overview of federal spending and progress towards meeting the overall target of Canada’s National Housing Strategy. This report was written in response to interest from Parliamentarians and the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

The accelerated capital cost allowance increases the maximum allowable rate of depreciation from 4 per cent to 10 per cent on eligible new purpose-built rental housing. Eligible properties must contain at least four private apartment units (or 10 private rooms); and at least 90 per cent of residential units must be held for long-term rental. To qualify, construction must begin after April 15, 2024, and be completed before January 1, 2036. Revised: 2024-05-22 02:15 PM

To help increase the construction of purpose-built rental units, the government introduced an enhancement to the goods and services tax (GST) Rental Rebate. To be eligible for the enhanced rebate, construction must have begun between September 14, 2023 and December 31, 2030. Construction must be finished by December 31, 2035. The PBO estimates that the total foregone GST due to this measure would be $5.8 billion between 2023-24 and 2028-29.

The Underused Housing Tax (UHT) is an annual federal 1% tax on the ownership of vacant or underused housing in Canada that took effect on January 1, 2022. Since then, there has been continued interest by Parliamentarians on the expected revenues generated by the UHT. Furthermore, in November 2023 the Department of Finance release legislative and regulatory proposals designed to facilitate compliance with the UHT. The PBO estimates that the revenues generated from this tax will be $131.7 million in fiscal year 2023-24 and $693.9 million over a 5-year period.

This report provides estimates of household formation and the housing stock in Canada. The report also provides an estimate of the housing gap at the national level based on the total vacancy rate.

In response to interest from several Members of Parliament, this self-initiated report is intended to provide an update on spending and results of federal program spending on housing affordability.

This report provides an update of PBO’s assessment of house prices relative to a household’s capacity to borrow and pay for the purchase of a house in selected Canadian cities. In addition, to gauge the potential downward adjustment in house prices in 2022, we consider scenarios based on assumed increases in mortgage rates and household debt service ratios.

This report provides an assessment of house prices relative to a household’s capacity to borrow and pay for the purchase of a house in selected Canadian cities.

This note provides fiscal analysis of the Government’s proposal to reduce mortgage insurance premiums collected by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

This report is intended to help parliamentarians understand federal program spending on housing affordability. It provides an update on our 2019 report, Federal Program Spending on Housing Affordability in response to questions raised by parliamentarians. The planned spending profile for some of the programs identified in this report are dependent on final program design being confirmed.

This measure offers up to $40,000 in interest-free loans to eligible homeowners and landlords to complete deep home retrofits recommended through an authorized EnerGuide energy assessment. This measure builds on a program put forward in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, which provided funding for up to one million free energy audits and up to 700,000 grants of up to $5,000 for homeowners to complete energy efficient home improvements.

This report was prepared at the request of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.