Buying property in Ottawa as a newcomer or non-resident

The Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act (S.C. 2022, c. 10, s. 235) has been in force since January 1, 2023. It was extended once, announced on February 4, 2024, and is currently set to expire on January 1, 2027. While it is in force, most non-Canadians may not purchase residential property in the areas it covers.

Those areas are Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations — and Ottawa is a Census Metropolitan Area. So this is not a rule that applies somewhere else: it applies to the homes on this site.

What the ban covers is narrower than people assume. It applies to residential buildings containing up to three dwelling units. Buildings with four or more units are outside it, as is vacant land, and so is property outside a CMA or CA — which is why the rules can differ between an Ottawa house and a property an hour down the highway.

The consequence of getting this wrong is not that the deal quietly fails. A non-Canadian convicted of breaching the prohibition — or anyone who knowingly helps one, which includes people advising you — faces a fine of up to $10,000, and a court may order the property sold.

CMHC — the Act, in full · The legislation itself

A great many people reading this are not affected at all. Canadian citizens and permanent residents can buy — the ban is aimed at non-Canadians, and holding PR takes you outside it entirely. Beyond that, the Act sets out exemptions, each with conditions that are checked rather than assumed:

• Work-permit holders. You need a valid work permit with at least 183 days of validity remaining at purchase, and you must not have already bought a home under this exemption.
• Students. The strictest of the exemptions, and the one most often misread. It requires enrolment in an authorized study programme, tax returns filed for each of the five preceding years, physical presence in Canada for at least 244 days in each of those five years, no previous purchase, and a purchase price of $500,000 or less. Every condition must be met — not most of them.
• Refugees and protected persons. People with refugee protection, those whose claims are eligible, and people granted temporary resident status on humanitarian grounds.
• Diplomatic personnel accredited to a foreign mission, holding a valid diplomatic passport — relevant in Ottawa more than in most Canadian cities.
• Spouses and common-law partners. A non-Canadian buying jointly with a spouse or partner who is a citizen, permanent resident, or themselves exempt.

There is also an exception where the prohibition would conflict with Aboriginal and treaty rights under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Clearing the federal ban is not the end of it. Where a purchase is permitted, Ontario applies a Non-Resident Speculation Tax of 25% — a rate in force since October 25, 2022, and one that applies anywhere in Ontario, not merely in Toronto.

The detail that catches people is that it is not shared out by ownership share. If any one buyer is a foreign entity or taxable trustee, the tax applies to 100% of the value of the consideration — not to that person's percentage of it. A couple buying together where one partner is a foreign national does not pay half.

This is on top of ordinary Ontario land transfer tax, which every buyer pays. On a $650,000 purchase, NRST at 25% would be $162,500 in addition to the land transfer tax — which is why this changes affordability rather than trimming it. Our land transfer tax calculator covers the ordinary tax only; it does not model NRST.

Rebates and exemptions exist and are worth knowing about. A rebate is available where a foreign buyer becomes a permanent resident within four years of registration. Exemptions may apply to nominees, protected persons, and spouses of Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Each is claimed on evidence, through the Ministry of Finance — so keep the paperwork.

Ontario — Non-Resident Speculation Tax

On its current terms the prohibition expires on January 1, 2027. As of July 2026, no replacement has been legislated and no decision has been announced.

What is public is that the federal government has signalled it is considering a different approach rather than a third straight extension — with an Australian-style model discussed publicly, under which foreign buyers could purchase new construction and vacant land while remaining barred from existing homes. That is a direction of travel reported in commentary, not a rule you can rely on. Nothing about it is law.

The practical advice is unglamorous and firm: do not plan a purchase around what the rules might become. If you are not eligible today, you are not eligible today. We will re-verify this page at the January 2027 change and re-date it; until it carries a date later than that, treat the position above as the current one.

If you are eligible, the process is the same one everyone else follows — buying in Ottawa, step by step — with a few extra frictions worth anticipating.

Your credit history does not cross the border. A long, spotless record elsewhere generally arrives in Canada as no record at all. Lenders have newcomer programmes built for exactly this, and the terms — down payment, documentation, whether the mortgage is insurable — vary meaningfully between them. Ask more than one lender, early, and ask specifically what they need from someone in your status rather than what they need in general.

Down payment rules can differ by status. What a permanent resident is offered and what a work-permit holder is offered are not always the same product. Get this answered before you fall in love with a listing, because it sets your budget.

Learn the city before you commit to a corner of it. Ottawa is a winter city with real commute geography and neighbourhoods that differ more than a map suggests. Our neighbourhood guides and the housing types explainer are the fastest way in, and the affordability calculator will show you honestly what a budget buys.

Renting first is not a defeat. For many newcomers it is the sensible move — it buys time to build a credit file, understand the city, and see a winter before committing. Renting in Ottawa covers your rights as a tenant.

Every rule on this page was checked against the issuing authority on July 24, 2026. We link to the source rather than reproducing forms, because the authority's copy is the current one and ours would not stay that way.

• CMHC — Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act (coverage, exemptions, penalties)
• Justice Canada — the Act as enacted
• Department of Finance Canada — two-year extension announcement, February 4, 2024
• Ontario Ministry of Finance — Non-Resident Speculation Tax

Educational information only — not legal, immigration, financial or tax advice, and not a substitute for professional advice on your own situation.