Description

• Federal/Provincial program which consists of an allocation of more than $28 million to make home ownership affordable for at least 3,470 low and moderate-income households.
• The fund will provide sustainable ongoing support for eligible persons to pursue home ownership.
• Service Managers deliver the program, committing to the delivery of the fund for a 15-year period.
• If, after the 15-year period, the service managers choose to phase out the program rather than continuing to provide down payment assistance, the province must be informed and a phase-out plan submitted.
  Funds will be directed towards the down payment of the home and will comprise 5% of the cost of an eligible home.
• An appropriate security agreement, such as a mortgage, will be registered by the service manager with the purchaser on title to provide a mechanism for the repayment of the contribution.
• The GTA has been allocated $13.78 million of the fund, allowing for 1,582 purchasers to benefit from the fund.

Eligibility of the Person

• Home must be the sole and principle residence of the purchaser.
• Purchaser must meet the following minimum criteria:
  • Be a renter buying a sole and principle residence

  • Have income at or below the 50th percentile income level for the area of the province, whichever is lower
  • Meet any additional criteria as established and communicated by the service manager.

• Service managers will be encouraged to address target groups that have been identified, such as seniors and social assistance recipients, and those identified through municipal assessments, such as first time home buyers, new immigrants, single parent households, and recent graduates.

• Purchaser’s may select a unit of their choice, provided that it meets program criteria.
• Eligible homes through the fund are:
  • new units, including conversions from non-residential use that include a new home warranty,
  • resale homes, provided a home inspection is undertaken at the homeowner’s expense
  • homes where the purchaser price does not exceed prices affordable to households at the 50th percentile of income or levels affordable to target groups who are on, or are eligible to be on, social housing waiting lists.
• Units may be detached, semi-detached, town (both condo and freehold), stacked homes, row houses, or apartments.
• Purchaser’s housing costs must be at or below the average market selling price for the area, and must not exceed $196,000 or what is affordable to households at the 50th percentile of income for the area, whichever is lower.

• Maximum income eligibility for a prospective purchaser in the GTA is $59,000.
• Maximum purchase price of a home in the GTA to be eligible is $196,000, meaning a total contribution from the fund of $10,000 towards the down payment.

Conditions for Repayment by Homeowner

• When owned unit is sold before the 20-year affordability period expires, homeowner is required to repay the original contribution from the fund plus 5% of the realized capital gains on the sal e of the unit. This money will be redistributed under the fund.
• Where the home is sold after the 20-year period has expired, no repayment of the contribution from the fund or the capital gains realized on the sale is required.
• Homeowners may repay the contribution within the 20-year period without selling the home, but are still required to repay 5% of the realized capital gains if the house is sold within 20 years of the date of purchase.

Conditions for Non-Repayment by Homeowner

• Where the home is sold within the 20-year affordability period but the seller realizes a capital loss on the sale, repayment of the contribution would be waived, providing that the sale meets the following criteria:
  • The unit is sold for its fair market value; and
  • The purchase and sale of the unit is an arms length transaction