Builders and Canada's largest banks ask to keep Ontario's new-home HST rebate and ease rental investment
Making the Ontario HST rebate permanent leads five priorities among 29 housing recommendations Canadian builders and banks sent Ottawa on November 10.
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Making the Ontario HST rebate permanent is the first of five priorities a group of Canadian home builders and bank executives put to Ottawa on November 10, 2026. The National Housing and Investment Initiative published 29 recommendations for the federal review of the National Housing Strategy.
Key points
- The National Housing and Investment Initiative (NHII) brings together development industry leaders and Canada's largest financial institutions, facilitated by BILD, the Greater Toronto Area's Building Industry and Land Development Association, together with the Missing Middle Initiative.
- Its report, Recommendations for a Sustainable Canadian Housing Market, makes 29 recommendations, five of them flagged as priorities.
- The priorities include a capital gains rollover for investors who sell purpose-built rentals and reinvest in new rental construction.
- The group also asks Ottawa to exempt new construction, development-ready vacant land and purpose-built rental projects from the foreign buyers ban.
- The report is built on four pillars: long-term housing investment, credit risk management, stable immigration policy and better housing data.
Why does making the Ontario HST rebate permanent matter now?
Because Ontario's enhanced new-home HST rebate only covers purchase agreements signed by March 31, 2027. Ontario's Enhanced New Housing Rebate, administered by the Canada Revenue Agency, returns up to $80,000, the full 8% provincial portion of the HST, on eligible new homes, and the 2026 Ontario Budget limits it to agreements signed from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027. Ontario also pays a New Home Affordability Payment of up to $50,000 to cover the 5% federal portion of the HST, for combined relief of up to $130,000 on eligible new homes. The NHII's first priority would keep the provincial rebate in place after the window closes.
| Ontario new-home HST relief | Terms set by the Government of Ontario |
|---|---|
| Relief | The full 8 per cent provincial portion of the HST on eligible new homes (budget) |
| Maximum | Up to $80,000, kept for homes valued up to $1.5 million (budget) |
| Window | Agreements of purchase and sale signed April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 (budget) |
| Previous rule | A maximum rebate of $24,000 (budget) |
| Federal-portion top-up | Up to $50,000 through the New Home Affordability Payment (Ontario) |
Recent government initiatives like the enhanced new housing HST rebate and Development Charge Reduction Program in Ontario have demonstrated that well-designed policy can improve housing market activity and restore confidence.
— Brad Carr, CEO, Canada, Mattamy Homes and co-chair of the NHII
What are the five priority recommendations?
The NHII lists five priorities among its 29 recommendations:
| Priority | What the NHII asks for |
|---|---|
| HST rebate | Make Ontario's enhanced new housing HST rebate permanent |
| Infrastructure funding | Look at other ways to pay for municipal infrastructure so housing relies less on development charges |
| Rental investment | A capital gains rollover so investors who sell purpose-built rentals can defer the gain if they reinvest in new rental construction |
| Foreign buyers ban | Exempt new construction, development-ready vacant land and purpose-built rental projects |
| Condo financing | An Owner-Occupied Construction Loan Program to improve construction financing for new condominiums |
What do the four pillars of the report cover?
The report groups its 29 recommendations under four pillars, each with a summary recommendation:
| Pillar | Recommendations | Examples from the report |
|---|---|---|
| Attracting more long-term housing investment | 1 to 16 (report) | In-stream protection that locks in fees and rules at the time of an investment decision; special districts and municipal utility districts to finance infrastructure |
| Credit risk management | 17 to 21 (report) | Down payment assistance for young Canadians and a refined mortgage stress test |
| Immigration stability for housing predictability | 22 to 25 (report) | Turning the permanent resident cap of 1% of the population into a target, and five-year immigration levels plans |
| Better data for better decisions | 26 to 29 (report) | A public/private agency to collect housing data, starting with construction timelines and supply |
Who is behind the report?
Executives from Canada's five largest banks and ten home builders, developers and real estate investors, working through BILD and the Missing Middle Initiative. The full report lists members from BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank and TD, and from builders including Mattamy Homes, Wesgroup, Minto Group, Menkes, Polygon Homes, Brookfield Residential and Tricon. Mattamy's Brad Carr and Wesgroup's Beau Jarvis co-chaired the work, and Scotiabank chief economist Jean-Francois Perrault spoke for the group in the release.
What does this mean for builders and rental investors?
Our analysis: the recommendations are aimed at the financing side of building, not just demand. For developers, the HST rebate and the condo construction loan program bear on whether pre-sales and construction loans line up; for rental investors, the proposed rollover would let gains from selling one purpose-built rental building carry into the next without a tax bill in between. The recommendations now go to the federal review of the National Housing Strategy. For more on the forces behind affordability, see our expert roundups on housing trends that strain affordability and policy advice on current housing trends.
Frequently asked questions
What is the National Housing and Investment Initiative?
A focus group of private sector housing and finance leaders who make housing recommendations to the federal government, facilitated by BILD and the Missing Middle Initiative.
When does Ontario's enhanced HST rebate end?
Under the 2026 Ontario Budget, it applies to agreements signed on or before March 31, 2027.
What is a capital gains rollover for rental housing?
As the NHII proposes it, an investor who sells a purpose-built rental building could put off paying capital gains tax as long as the proceeds go into building new purpose-built rental housing.
Where can I read the full report?
BILD hosts the report, Recommendations for a Sustainable Canadian Housing Market, on its industry reports page.
Sources
- Building Industry and Major Canadian Banks Collaborate on New Sustainable Housing Market Report: press release from the National Housing and Investment Initiative via GlobeNewswire, 10 November 2026.
- Recommendations for a Sustainable Canadian Housing Market: the NHII report, hosted by BILD.
- The Ontario New Home Affordability Payment: the Government of Ontario's page on how the enhanced rebate is delivered.
- 2026 Ontario Budget, Chapter 1, Section B: the Government of Ontario's terms for the enhanced HST new housing rebate.