Prime Minister During The Election Campaign, proposed the Option of A Foreigner’s land-buying Ban.
With the new year’s beginning, Canada has introduced changes in their property act, adding the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadian Act.
The ban on land-buying is for a temporary period making it for two years, in which government will focus on making houses available to locals who are going through housing issues.
The act will have certain exceptions a foreigner who is a refugee or permanent resident but not a Canadian citizen, can buy the house.
In the end-week of December, Ottawa clarified that the ban would be for city accommodations, and not for recreational properties such as gymnasiums, playgrounds, sports fields, public parks, swimming pools, and camping sites.
The measures were proposed during the electoral campaign when the high prices went above affordable, making home buying beyond the reach of the Canadian pocket, in the year 2021.
Seeing an opportunity, Canada is attracting a major crowd of profiteers, wealthy corporations, and foreign investors.
In his speech, prime minister Justin Trudeau said “ this is leading to a real problem of less used and vacant housing accommodations and skyrocketing prices, homes are for people, not investors.”
What act says?
Any person knowing or unknowingly bought the house and if found guilty he/she will be liable to punish with a fine of $10.000.
The property might get sold within the judicial sale orders, and no more than the purchase price is to be paid to the former foreign owner.
The major market has started introducing taxes on non-residents and empty houses in Vancouver and Toronto.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, average home prices have fallen from a peak of more than Can $800,000 (roughly rupee 4.87 lakhs) at the start of 2022 to just over Can $630,000 ((roughly rupee 3.84 lakhs) last month.
Despite it being the new year, the real estate market was down on Sunday as the mortgage rates followed the bank of Canada’s aggressive monetary policy in a bit to rein in inflation.
Many property experts have said that ban on foreign buyers will not have the desired effect of making homes more affordable. They pointed out the need for more housing construction to meet demand.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a national housing agency said in their month of June report that close to 19 million housing units will be needed by 2030, and around 5.8 million new homes needed to be built, which is 3.5 million more than assumed.
