Toronto residents want an affordable city. They want a city where families and individuals can put down roots, seniors can downsize with dignity, and young people can realistically aspire to homeownership. City Council’s decision to approve another increase to Toronto’s Municipal Land Transfer Tax (MLTT) moves the City further away from those goals.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) is deeply concerned that this decision adds yet another layer to Toronto’s already heavy housing tax burden. Homebuyers and renters are once again being asked to shoulder the cost of addressing broader fiscal challenges, despite years of evidence showing that higher housing taxes have not delivered better outcomes for residents. Housing affordability has deteriorated, market mobility has slowed, and the everyday pressures facing households have worsened.

Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario that imposes its own municipal land transfer tax on top of the provincial levy, adding tens of thousands of dollars in upfront costs that cannot be financed through a mortgage. Research has shown that land transfer taxes discourage people from moving. When those properties are not brought to market, housing supply goes down, and first-time buyers face stronger competition for homes further down the price ladder. This pressure is exacerbated by the fact that the City’s first-time buyer MLTT rebate has not been meaningfully updated since 2016, even as prices and taxes have surged. The approved motion to review the first-time buyer rebate and consider options to improve the program is long overdue. An increase to the rebate should have been included in this round and not punted down the road.

In a city that has just received billions in provincial relief, returning to the same narrow set of tax tools reflects a lack of imagination and a failure of leadership. Torontonians have been told repeatedly that if they pay a little more in taxes, the City will get better. They have done their part. It is time for City Hall to recognize that making Toronto more affordable and more livable will not come from making housing more expensive.

Elechia Barry-Sproule
President
Toronto Regional Real Estate Board