Ontario removing provincial part of HST for new rental housing

The Ontario government will be removing the provincial portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) on new rental housing.

The announcement was made by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and Housing Minister Paul Calandra on Wednesday morning, one day before the Progressive Conservatives drop their fall economic statement.

“It’s no secret that Ontario is growing rapidly,” Bethlenfalvy said. “Never before has Ontario faced a housing crisis like this and it’s going to take all levels of government to address this challenge.”

As such, the government says it will be removing the eight per cent provincial portion of HST on “qualifying new purpose-built rental housing,” which they define as apartment buildings, student housing and senior residences built for long-term accommodations.

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The rebate would be available to projects constructed between Sept. 14 2023 and Dec. 31, 2030, with a deadline for completion by Dec. 31, 2035.

To qualify for what the province is calling the enhanced HST New Residential Rental Property Rebate, the buildings must have at least four private apartment units or 10 private rooms or suites, and at least 90 per cent of those units must be designated for long-term rental.

These are the same qualifications for the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) rebate.

“In real terms, this means a two-bedroom rental unit valued at $500,000 would receive $40,000 in provincial tax relief from this rebate and, combined with the federal rebate, that’s $65,000 in tax relief—a clear incentive to encourage rental housing construction,” Bethlenfalvy said.

Last month the federal government tabled a bill that would remove these added fees on construction of new rental apartment buildings. In combination with the provincial rebate, this means that new builds will receive a 13 per cent tax rebate in total.