Skip to main content

Featured

Rental Property Expenses Canadians Forget to Claim (2026 Guide)

  Published: April 2026 | Reading time: 9 min | Category: Real Estate, Tax Savings, Personal Finance Owning a rental property in Canada comes with a surprisingly generous set of tax deductions — but most landlords only claim the obvious ones. Mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance. Done. What they miss is often worth thousands of dollars in additional deductions every single year. If you own a rental property in Ontario (or anywhere in Canada), this guide walks through every legitimate expense category the CRA allows — including the ones your accountant may not have mentioned. Why This Matters More Than You Think Rental income in Canada is taxed as regular income — meaning at your full marginal rate. At Ontario's combined federal and provincial rates, landlords earning $100,000–$150,000 total income are paying 43% on every dollar of net rental profit. Every $1,000 in legitimate deductions you miss costs you approximately $430 in real taxes . A landlord who forget...

article

Preserving Affordable Housing: The Role of Rental-Protection Funds


Colleen Frank, a 74-year-old resident, stood in front of the rental apartment she had called home for over two decades. The two-bedroom condo in Chilliwack, B.C., where she had served as the unofficial superintendent, was no longer hers. Evicted at 72, she faced homelessness in a rapidly rising rental market. Colleen’s story is not unique; many low-income Canadians struggle to find affordable housing as rents soar.

Across Canada, lower-cost rental properties are disappearing due to renovictions, tenant turnover, and demolitions. While new buildings receive attention, the existing stock dwindles. It’s akin to filling a bucket with a hole at the bottom—new development won’t suffice if we lose existing units.

Canada is now taking a crucial step to address this crisis. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced the creation of a $1.5-billion rental protection fund. This fund aims to preserve affordable housing by helping non-profits purchase rental apartments when they come up for sale.

How It Works

  1. Loans and Grants: The program offers $1 billion in loans and $470 million in grants. Non-profits can access these funds to buy affordable rental properties.
  2. Cost-Effective Preservation: Research shows that preserving existing affordable housing is 50-70% cheaper than new construction. Non-profit operators keep rents lower for the long term.
  3. Swift Action: Private real estate sales move quickly, making it challenging for non-profits to compete. The rental-protection fund bridges this gap.

British Columbia’s Rental Protection Fund has already made a difference. It provides one-time capital grants to non-profit housing organizations, allowing them to purchase rental buildings and co-operatives listed for sale. By safeguarding existing units, this fund protects renters and ensures long-term affordability.

As the housing market escalates, rental-protection funds become essential tools. By preserving what we have, we can stem the vanishing supply of affordable units and provide stability for vulnerable Canadians. 

Comments