By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
Compton-Stanstead MP and Minister of National Revenue, Marie-Claude Bibeau, has called the $535-billion budget released Tuesday an “intergenerational equity” budget, vaunting proposed new protections for renters and first-time homebuyers.
“There are a lot of Gen-Xers in our caucus, and we see the worries our [Gen Z] kids have,” she said in a post-budget chat with The Record. “Young people don’t dream of buying their own home anymore, because property isn’t accessible.”
The budget contains provisions to provide federal loans to support provincial and municipal housing projects. For former renters making the transition to owning their own home, programs laid out in the budget will make it easier for renters with a stable payment history to qualify for a mortgage, Bibeau explained. Mortgage insurance rules will be amended to allow 30-year mortgage amortizations for first-time homebuyers buying newly built homes, and homebuyers will be able to withdraw an additional $25,000 from their RRSPs to put toward a down payment on a house. To incentivize new builds, GST will no longer be applied to construction materials.
For renters, a $1.5-billion Renters’ Assistance Fund will be established; some of the funds will be disbursed to community organizations providing legal support and information for renters; some will be used to establish a charter of rights for renters and set up “something like a rent registry” – a public database allowing renters to see what the previous tenant paid for their house or apartment, a longstanding demand of renters’ rights groups.
