The Foreign Buyers Ban

What is it?

The foreign buyer ban was made effective January 1, 2023, which prohibits the purchase of residential property on a federal level in Canada by foreign commercial enterprises and Non-Canadians. More formally, Non-Canadians include any individuals who are not Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or persons registered under the Indian Act. Corporations and entities formed under Canadian federal or provincial law that are not listed on a stock exchange in Canada and controlled by a Non-Canadian are also prohibited from making purchases under this Act.

Residential property is defined as any building with three dwelling units or less, including semi-detached houses and condominium units. Violations of this act can result in fines of up to $10,000 and a court ordered sale of the residential property. The ban, while originally set to expire January 1st, 2025, has now been extended for an additional two years, effective until January 1st, 2027.

Exemptions

The Act does provide exemptions for the following individuals:

1. Temporary Residents studying in Canada

2. Temporary Residents working in Canada

3. Refugees/refugee claimants and individuals fleeing international crises

4. Accredited members of foreign missions in Canada

5. Non-Canadians spouses and common-law partners

The detailed requirements for each exempt individual can be found here

Additional property type exemptions

Residential property located outside of Census Metropolitan Areas or Census Agglomerations are exempt from the Prohibition of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act. (For more information on Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations see the Statistics Canada Standard Geographical Classification 2021).

Under the Act’s definition of residential property, the regulations do not apply to buildings with four or more dwelling units.

The Act also does not apply to vacant land as of March 27, 2023.