Shibley Righton LLP
Can anyone (including foreigners) own and occupy real estate in your jurisdiction (including shares in property owning companies)? Are there any restrictions?
No. Currently there is a law in Canada entitled the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians. This law prohibits non-Canadians from purchasing properties in areas where it has been identified by Statistics Canada that there has been significant development. This law is intended to be a temporary measure to address a national housing shortage. In addition, there are provincial laws that require “Non-Canadians” to pay an additional land transfer tax on the acquisition of a residential property. For example, in Ontario there is a tax is called the Non-Resident Speculation Tax. There are at present no commercial restrictions.
Are there restrictions on lending for the purchase of real estate by foreign companies? If so briefly give an outline?
No. Currently there are no specific laws restricting lending.
Buying
Please provide a short summary of the fees and costs (including tax) relating to buying real estate in your jurisdiction.
In Canada unless a Property is sold privately there will be commission due but this cost is borne by the Seller. In Ontario there is a tax charged on the purchase of real Property which is called Land Transfer Tax. In addition, in Toronto there also is a municipal Land Transfer Tax which is also a graduated tax. There are rebates available for 1st time homebuyers both provincially and municipally.
On new residential properties and on commericial real Property purchases there is a combined federal and provincial tax (HST) that is exigible. There are also HST rebates and offsets available for those who register with the government.
Owning
Are there taxes applicable to owning real estate and can the burden of the taxes be passed to someone else (e.g. a tenant or an occupier - not being the owner
All real property has realty taxes levied on the property which are levied annually and collected by the responsible municipality. In Ontario, the assessed values of properties are determined by a provincial government corporation the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. In addition, currently large metropolitan areas such as Toronto a homeowner that leaves their home vacant is subject to a special limited time annual tax. This tax can be avoided if the owner can establish, they have leased out their property.
Tax Breaks
Are there tax breaks or other incentives for foreigners to buy real estate in your jurisdiction? If so, what are they?
No at present. There are no incentives for foreigners to buy real estate in Canada.
How is the ownership of Real Estate evidenced in your jurisdiction?
In Ontario title is registered with the Ontario Government. There are 2 registry systems, Registry and Land Titles. More than 95 % of properties in Ontario are in Land Titles. This is primarily now in an electronic platform called Teraview.
Is it possible to keep the identity of owners of real estate confidential in your jurisdiction?
The registered ownership of property in Ontario is of public record. Individuals and corporations can register Bare Trustees on title and the actual owner would not be immediately apparent.