Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Regulations
SOR/2022-250
PROHIBITION ON THE PURCHASE OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY BY NON-CANADIANS ACT
Registration 2022-12-02
Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Regulations
P.C. 2022-1259 2022-12-02
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion after consultation with the Minister of Finance, makes the annexed Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Regulations under section 8 of the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians ActFootnote a.
Return to footnote aS.C. 2022, c. 10, s. 235
Marginal note:Definitions
1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.
- Act
Act means the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act. (Loi)
- census agglomeration
census agglomeration means a census agglomeration within the meaning of the Statistics Canada document entitled Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2021. (agglomération de recensement)
- census metropolitan area
census metropolitan area means a census metropolitan area within the meaning of the Statistics Canada document entitled Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2021. (région métropolitaine de recensement)
- control
control with respect to a corporation or entity, means
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) direct or indirect ownership of shares or ownership interests of the corporation or entity representing 3% or more of the value of the equity in it, or carrying 3% or more of its voting rights; or
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) control in fact of the corporation or entity, whether directly or indirectly, through ownership, agreement or otherwise. (contrôle)
Marginal note:Non-Canadian — prescribed entities
2 For the purposes of paragraph (d) of the definition non-Canadian in section 2 of the Act, the following entities are prescribed:
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) an entity formed otherwise than under the laws of Canada or a province; and
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) an entity formed under the laws of Canada or a province and controlled by an entity referred to in paragraph (a) or controlled by a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of the definition non-Canadian in section 2 of the Act.
Marginal note:Residential property — exclusion
- The following provision is not in force.
3 (1) For the purposes of the portion of the definition residential property in section 2 of the Act before paragraph (a), a property that is located in an area of Canada that is not within either a census agglomeration or a census metropolitan area is a prescribed real property or immovable.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Prescribed real property or immovable
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of residential property in section 2 of the Act, land that does not contain any habitable dwelling, that is zoned for residential use or mixed use, and that is located within a census agglomeration or a census metropolitan area, is a prescribed real property or immovable.
Marginal note:Purchase
- The following provision is not in force.
4 (1) For the purposes of the Act, the acquisition, with or without conditions, of a legal or equitable interest or a real right in a residential property constitutes a purchase.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Exceptions
(2) However, a purchase referred to in subsection (1) does not include
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) the acquisition by an individual of an interest or a real right resulting from death, divorce, separation or a gift;
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) the rental of a dwelling unit to a tenant for the purpose of its occupation by the tenant;
- The following provision is not in force.
(c) the transfer under the terms of a trust that was created prior to the coming into force of the Act; or
- The following provision is not in force.
(d) the transfer resulting from the exercise of a security interest or secured right by a secured creditor.
Marginal note:Temporary residents — prescribed conditions
5 For the purposes of paragraph 4(2)(a) of the Act, the temporary resident must satisfy one of the following conditions:
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) if they are enrolled in a program of authorized study at a designated learning institution, as defined in section 211.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations,
(i) they filed all required income tax returns under the Income Tax Act for each of the five taxation years preceding the year in which the purchase was made,
(ii) they were physically present in Canada for a minimum of 244 days in each of the five calendar years preceding the year in which the purchase was made,
(iii) the purchase price of the residential property does not exceed $500,000, and
(iv) they have not purchased more than one residential property; or
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) if they hold a work permit, as defined in section 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, or are authorized to work in Canada under section 186 of those Regulations,
(i) they worked in Canada for a minimum period of three years within the four years preceding the year in which the purchase was made, if the work is full-time work as defined in subsection 73(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations,
(ii) they filed all required income tax returns under the Income Tax Act for a minimum of three of the four taxation years preceding the year in which the purchase was made, and
(iii) they have not purchased more than one residential property.
Marginal note:Exception — persons
6 For the purposes of paragraph 4(2)(d) of the Act, the following classes of persons are prescribed:
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) foreign nationals who hold a passport that contains a valid diplomatic, consular, official or special representative acceptance issued by the Chief of Protocol for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development;
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) foreign nationals, with valid temporary resident status, whose temporary resident visa was issued, or temporary resident status was granted, following an exemption provided under section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, if the Minister is of the opinion that the exemption was justified based on public policy considerations to provide safe haven to those fleeing conflict; and
- The following provision is not in force.
(c) persons that have made a claim for refugee protection in accordance with subsection 99(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, if that claim has been found eligible and referred to the Refugee Protection Division under subsection 100(1) of that Act.
Marginal note:Order
- The following provision is not in force.
7 (1) An order referred to in subsection 7(1) of the Act may only be made if the following conditions are met:
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) the non-Canadian is the owner of the residential property at the time the order is made;
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) notice has been given to every person who may be entitled to receive proceeds from the sale; and
- The following provision is not in force.
(c) the superior court of the province is satisfied that the impact of the order would not be disproportionate to the nature and gravity of the contravention, the circumstances surrounding the commission of the contravention and the resulting conviction.
- The following provision is not in force.
Marginal note:Conditions of order
(2) The order made under subsection 7(1) of the Act must provide that the proceeds of the sale are distributed in the following order:
- The following provision is not in force.
(a) the payment of the costs of the sale, including the costs incurred by the Minister in bringing the application for the order and any unpaid fines by the non-Canadian under the Act;
- The following provision is not in force.
(b) the payment of those, other than the non-Canadian, who are entitled to receive the proceeds of the sale in amounts and according to priorities that the superior court may determine;
- The following provision is not in force.
(c) the repayment of the non-Canadian of an amount that is not greater than the purchase price they paid for the residential property; and
- The following provision is not in force.
(d) the payment of any amount remaining to the Receiver General for Canada.
Marginal note:Exception — circumstances
8 For the purposes of subsection 4(3) of the Act, subsection 4(1) of the Act does not apply if it is incompatible with the rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Marginal note:Repeal
9 These Regulations are repealed on the day on which section 236 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1, chapter 10 of the Statutes of Canada, 2022, comes into force.
Marginal note:Coming into force
10 These Regulations come into force on January 1 2023, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.
- Date modified: