The 2024 annual budget was unveiled last week. Here are some of the highlights as they pertain to housing in Canada.
Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights
The creation of the Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights was announced in the 2024 budget. The bill of rights is intended to more effectively protect tenants and help them realize their dreams of home ownership. The bill proposes:
- Nationwide standard lease agreement
- allow tenants to report their rental payment history to credit bureaus in order to better their credit scores
- $15 million over five years has been allocated to a Tenant Protection Fund, which will provide legal support to tenants
These measures are aiming to protect tenants and strengthen their ability to become homeowners.
New Homes construction funding
The federal government is promising the funding for the construction of new homes to the tune of $15 billion in additional funding. The funding will start next year for the creation of $30,000 new homes. The current funds allocation will be topped up to over $55 billion for a total of 131,000 units by 2031.
$400 million goes to CMHC (Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corporation’s) to build 12,000 new housing units.
$6 billion over ten years has been allocated to Infrastructure Canada to support the creation of water & infrastructure needed for new communities.
$110 million over 2 years is earmarked for the Employment and Social Development Canada to support apprenticeship and skilled-trade programs that address the workforce shortage needed to build housing.
More accessible mortgages
Starting August 1, 2024 first-time buyers purchasing a newly-constructed home can access 30-year mortgage amortizations, a product that has previously only been available to those with a down payment of at least 20%.
The Home Buyers’ Plan has been amended to make it easier to access funds to buy a home. The withdrawal limit on the Home Buyers’ Plan has been increased from $35,000 to $60,000 as of April 16th.
The 2024 budget also includes $409.6 million over four years toward a Canada Secondary Suite Loan Program, run by CMHC, to enable homeowners to borrow up to $40,000 in low-interest rates towards the cost of adding a secondary suite to their homes.
There’s a lot of changes and new initiatives, please feel free to contact me to find out how all of this could affect you when considering buying or selling your home.
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