Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act

What the law actually does

It makes it illegal for a non-Canadian to purchase residential property in a defined part of the country. It is a prohibition on the purchase, not a tax and not a surcharge. There is no version of it you can pay your way out of.

Two definitions do most of the work. The first is what counts as residential property: the Act covers buildings with only a small number of dwelling units, which is how a detached house, a semi, a townhouse and a single condominium unit are caught while a large apartment building is not. The second is where it applies, which is set by Statistics Canada geography rather than by city boundary.

Vacant land and purchases for the purpose of development were carved out by amendment after the law came into force. If either of those describes your situation, that is a question for a real estate lawyer, not a website.

• It is a ban on buying, not a tax on buying.
• It catches small residential buildings and individual condominium units.
• It applies by census geography, not by municipal boundary.
• Vacant land and development purchases were later exempted by amendment.

Is it still in force?

Yes. It is in force, and it expires on 1 January 2027 (CMHC, verified 28 August 2026). It was originally set to run for a shorter term and was extended once, by regulation, before that term ran out.

That date is close enough now that it is the single most important thing to check on this page. Federal officials have publicly discussed replacing the prohibition with a different framework rather than simply extending it again, which means the rules could change in either direction with a budget or a regulatory amendment.

Do not rely on the end date printed anywhere, including here — the date above was verified on 28 August 2026 and has moved before. Confirm it against the administering body’s own page before you sign anything, and confirm it again if your closing date is months away. The law that matters is the law in force on the day title transfers, not the day you wrote the offer.

Who counts as a non-Canadian

Canadian citizens are not covered. Permanent residents are not covered. Persons registered under the Indian Act are not covered. Everyone else is a non-Canadian for the purposes of this law, including people living in Canada legally on a study or work permit unless an exception applies to them.

It also reaches corporations and other entities. A company incorporated in Canada can still be a non-Canadian under the Act if it is controlled by non-Canadians and is not listed on a Canadian stock exchange. There is a specific control threshold written into the legislation. If you are buying through a corporation, have your lawyer read that section against your share register before you go firm.

• Citizens, permanent residents and persons registered under the Indian Act are outside the ban.
• A study or work permit does not by itself put you outside the ban. An exception has to apply.
• Corporations can be caught, including Canadian-incorporated ones, based on who controls them.

The exceptions that actually come up

Four exceptions do most of the real-world work in the Greater Toronto Area.

Work permit holders. If you hold a valid work permit, or are otherwise authorized to work in Canada, you can buy provided your permit still has a minimum amount of validity left on the day of purchase. The original version of this exception also demanded a work history and tax filings; those requirements were dropped by amendment. There is a limit on how many residential properties you can buy under it.

Students. There is an exception for temporary residents studying here, but it is narrower. It attaches conditions about enrolment, tax filing, physical presence in Canada, and a cap on the purchase price of the property. The price cap is the part that most often disqualifies a Greater Toronto Area purchase.

Refugees and protected persons. People who have been granted refugee protection, and certain refugee claimants and people admitted in response to a crisis, are exempt.

Buying with a Canadian spouse or partner. A non-Canadian can purchase jointly with a spouse or common-law partner who is a citizen, permanent resident, person registered under the Indian Act, or otherwise exempt. This is the route many mixed-status couples take.

• Work permit: valid permit with a minimum amount of time remaining, and a cap on how many properties.
• Student: enrolment, tax filing and presence conditions, plus a purchase price cap.
• Refugees and protected persons are exempt.
• A non-Canadian may buy jointly with an eligible spouse or common-law partner.
• Every one of those conditions has a number attached. Confirm each with your lawyer against the current regulations.

Where the ban applies in the Greater Toronto Area

The prohibition applies inside census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations as Statistics Canada defines them. That is a population-based definition, so it does not follow city lines and it does not follow the map most people carry in their heads.

In practice, the places most buyers in this market are looking at sit inside a census metropolitan area. Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Milton and Caledon fall within the Toronto census metropolitan area. Kitchener and Waterloo fall within their own. If you are searching in any of them, assume the ban applies to you unless an exception does.

Rural property well outside those areas can fall outside the prohibition entirely. That is a genuine distinction, not a loophole, and whether a specific address is in or out is a question of Statistics Canada geography that your lawyer should confirm in writing.

What happens if someone buys anyway

The purchase is not automatically void. That surprises people. A non-Canadian who buys in breach of the Act still ends up owning the property, but they are exposed to a fine, and a court can order the property sold.

The exposure is not limited to the buyer. Anyone who knowingly counsels, induces, aids or abets a prohibited purchase can be fined as well. That includes real estate professionals, lawyers and, in principle, family members who arrange it. This is why a licensed agent will ask about your status and will want the answer in writing, and why a real estate lawyer will require a statutory declaration before closing.

None of that is a reason to hide your status from your agent or your lawyer. It is the reason to tell them early, so a structure that works can be found before you are in a firm deal.

The separate Ontario tax nobody mentions

Clearing the federal ban is not the end of it. Ontario levies its own Non-Resident Speculation Tax on a purchase of residential property by a foreign national, foreign corporation or taxable trustee, anywhere in the province.

They are two entirely different instruments. The federal measure is a prohibition, so it decides whether you may buy at all. The Ontario measure is a tax, so it decides what the purchase costs. Being exempt from one tells you nothing about the other, and a buyer who qualifies for a work permit exception under the federal Act can still owe the provincial tax on closing.

It is charged at 25% of the purchase price (Ontario Ministry of Finance, verified 28 August 2026) and payable in cash at closing. Ask your lawyer to price it into your closing costs before you go firm, and ask specifically whether any rebate or exemption applies to you.

What to do before you write an offer

Sort out status first, then shop. Getting this backwards is how people end up losing a deposit.

Your status has to work on the closing date, not the offer date. A work permit with only a little validity left when you go firm may not clear the requirement by the time title transfers, and permit renewals do not always land on schedule.

• Confirm the current end date of the prohibition against the administering body’s own page.
• Get your immigration status and permit expiry confirmed in writing, and check them against the closing date rather than the offer date.
• Retain a real estate lawyer before you make an offer, not after, and tell them your status at the first conversation.
• If your situation is at all unusual, add an immigration lawyer. Real estate lawyers are not immigration lawyers.
• If you are buying through a corporation, have the control question answered before you go firm.