TORONTO REAL ESTATE

GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS AND WEBSITES

GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS -  FOR BUYERS

A home is usually the single largest investment that most people make in their lives. Achieving your dream can be made easier by taking advantage of various Government Programs for home buyers and property owners. Some of the programs are targeted to first-time buyers, while others apply more generally. Other programs benefit those in the industrial, commercial and multi-unit property market.

CLICK ON THE LINKS

Government Programs for Home Buyers

> First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit
> CMHC Purchase Plus Improvements Program
> RRSP Home Buyers' Plan

> HBPC Home Buyers' Tax Credit
> 5 per cent Down Payment Program
> GST New Housing Rebate
> Land Transfer Tax Rebates

> Marijuana Grow Houses - Municipal inspections

> CMHC to insure 30 year mortgages

GOVERNMENT WEBSITES

Internet allows improved public access to governments.

The explosive growth of the Internet and the continuing public demand for greater access to government has resulted in governments at all levels rushing to ensure their presence on the World Wide Web. The main purpose of most of the government Web sites is to communicate with constituents and distribute information on various programs and services. Governments at the federal and provincial levels, as well as most local and regional governments in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have established their own Web sites in an effort to get closer to the voters.

In addition to obtaining information about government programs and services, the public can also communicate with many elected officials via e-mail.

For example, by accessing the Government of Canada Web sites, individuals can obtain e-mail addresses for the Prime Minister, and various federal cabinet ministers.

Furthermore, many of the Web sites have links to other government related home pages making it easier for the public to stay in touch with their elected representatives.

Listed below are the home page addresses for the federal and provincial governments, and for many of the local and regional governments in the Greater Toronto Area.

If the government you are searching for is not listed, try a good search engine. At the search engine's home page, simply enter the name of the government, start the search and you should pull up some sites. If you are unsuccessful, it may mean that no Web site exists or it is under construction.

• Government of Canada

• Government of Ontario

• Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations

• Ontario New Home Warranty Program

• Government publications 

• Canada Mortgage  & Housing

 Regional:

• Durham Region

• Halton Region

• Peel Region

• York Region

  Municipal:

• Ajax

• Brampton

• Brock

• Burlington

• Caledon

• Clarington

• East Gwillimbury

• Georgina

• Halton Hills

• King

• Markham

• Milton

• Mississauga

• Newmarket

• Oakville

• Oshawa

• Pickering

• Scugog

• Toronto

• Uxbridge

• Vaughan

• Whitby

Province Introduces Legislation to Require Home Energy Audits

February 24, 2009 -- The provincial government has introduced legislation, Bill 150, the Green Energy Act, which, if passed, would require mandatory home energy audits prior to the sale of a home. This legislation has not yet been passed and is not yet in effect.

Details
Under the proposed Green Energy Act, home owners would be required to provide information regarding the home’s energy efficiency prior to the sale or lease of the property. Energy efficiency information about the property would have to be determined and provided by standardized methods established by the provincial government. The Province has not yet provided information on these details. The legislation, if passed, would allow the provincial government to prescribe:
• what energy efficiency information has to be provided and in what manner;
• the cost of home energy efficiency audits;
• the types of residences that these requirements would apply to; and,
• under what circumstances and at what times these requirements would be effective.

Actions
TREB and the Ontario Real Estate Association have been closely monitoring this issue and taking action. A detailed submission was sent to the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure last month, by OREA, to highlight concerns over mandatory home energy audits and to encourage the provincial government to maintain a voluntary system of home energy audits instead of a mandatory system.

GST-PST Harmonization

February 24, 2009 -- In recent weeks, Ontario Premier McGuinty has publicly indicated that the provincial government may consider combining the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) into one harmonized sales tax. The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) has indicated its opposition to this proposal and is continuing to monitor this issue.

Actions
In a letter to the Premier, OREA raised a number of concerns with potential harmonization of the GST with the PST, including:
• a harmonized sales tax could increase the cost of newly constructed housing by adding the cost of PST on top of the GST, which already applies to the sale of new housing;
• a harmonized sales tax could result in PST being charged on various real estate related services that are currently exempt from PST, including REALTOR® commissions, legal fees, appraisals, home inspections and other services; and,
• the impact of a harmonized sales tax on consumer spending and the economy.

 

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