Renting the Suite Out?
Different Rebate
Ontario’s Enhanced New Housing Rebate is only for a home that will be the primary residence of you or a relation, so a rental garden suite does not qualify for it. Since September 2026 a rental unit has its own rebate instead. Here is what each path pays, and the catch in the rental one.
Sources: CRA — Ontario ENRRP rebate (CRA pages last modified September 1, 2026) and CRA Notice 346 (revised August 24, 2026). Checked .
Two Rebates,
Two Sets of Forms
Most people searching for a garden-suite HST rebate are planning a rental, and most pages tell them no. That was right until recently. Ontario now runs a parallel rebate for rental housing, and the CRA published its guidance on September 1, 2026. The two programs share a deadline and almost nothing else.
| Suite for you or a relation | Suite you rent out | |
|---|---|---|
| Which rebate | Enhanced New Housing Rebate (ENHR) plus ONHAP | Ontario enhanced new residential rental property rebate (ENRRP), on top of the existing rental property rebate, plus ONHAP |
| Provincial portion | 100% of the 8% part, to $80,000 | 100% of the 8% part, to $80,000 per rental unit, combined with the existing rebate |
| Federal portion | Up to $50,000 through ONHAP | Up to $50,000 through ONHAP, for housing under $1.85M |
| Construction must begin | April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 | April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 |
| Who claims | You, as owner-builder | You, as landlord |
| What it is calculated on | The HST you actually paid on construction costs | The HST on the unit’s fair market value under the self-supply rule |
| Forms | GST191 + RC7191-ON | GST524 + RC7524-ON |
| Minimum units | None | None. One suite can qualify |
| When you file | After substantial completion, within two years of the base date | Within two years after the end of the month the self-supply happened |
Figures from the CRA’s ENRRP pages and Notice 346, checked September 9, 2026. Both programs have value tiers above $1 million; see below. Estimates only, and your accountant decides which path your project is on.
What the ENRRP
Actually Pays
The Ontario enhanced new residential rental property rebate is a temporary program that, together with the rental property rebate Ontario already had, gives a landlord a combined rebate of up to 100% of the 8% provincial part of the HST on newly built or substantially renovated housing. The maximum is $80,000 per residential unit. The older rebate on its own was capped at roughly $24,000, so the enhancement is the difference between those two numbers.
ONHAP applies to rental housing as well, adding up to 100% of the 5% federal part to a maximum of $50,000 for housing valued under $1.85 million. Eligibility follows the existing rental property rebate, which has no minimum unit count, so a single new garden suite on your own property can qualify. The four-unit threshold that comes up in most articles belongs to the separate federal purpose-built rental housing program.
| Fair market value of the unit | Provincial relief |
|---|---|
| Up to $1,000,000 | 100% of the 8% part, to $80,000 |
| $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 | Maximum $80,000 |
| $1,500,000 to $1,850,000 | Reduced on a sliding scale toward $24,000 |
| $1,850,000 and above | Existing rental property rebate only, about $24,000 |
A garden suite sits at the bottom of this table, where the full 8% is recoverable. The constraint is not the tier, it is the self-supply calculation.
Self-Supply Is Not
What You Spent
This is where the rental path stops resembling the owner-occupied one. When your new rental unit is finished and a tenant moves in, the CRA treats you as having sold the unit to yourself at its fair market value. You have to account for HST on that value, and the rebates are claimed against it.
So the rebate is not simply the HST on your invoices coming back. It is relief against a tax event triggered by the fact that you built a rental. Depending on what the finished suite is worth against what it cost you, the outcome can be better or worse than the arithmetic you would do for a family suite. That is not a reason to avoid it. It is a reason to have an accountant model it before you order anything, not after the tenant moves in.
Still pending. The CRA’s ENRRP pages went live on September 1, 2026, so the program parameters are published. Notice 346, revised August 24, 2026, still says a separate technical notice on the rental rebate is expected by October 2026. That notice is where the CRA’s detailed administrative positions will land, including the edge cases that matter most for a single suite on an existing lot. We will update this page when it is released.
What Applies to
Both Paths
- A detached garden suite under 100 m² is exempt from municipal development charges under Ontario Regulation 332/12
- The exemption applies whether you live in it or rent it out
- EpicMod’s compact models all fall under the threshold, and Bill 23 makes a suite as-of-right on most residential lots
- Several municipalities pay for an additional unit, usually on condition that you rent it at an affordable rate
- Taking one used to mean giving up the HST rebate
- A rented suite can now claim through the ENRRP instead, so the two are worth pricing together
- Both rebates need construction to begin between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027
- On your own land that means physical work: excavation or site preparation for the foundation
- A permit in hand or a deposit paid does not count, and permits take 4 to 16 weeks — your application date is the real deadline
These are third-party programs. The summary above is ours; the CRA, CMHC and your municipality are the authorities and their published material governs. Confirm the details at the source, and with your own accountant, rather than relying on this page.
A Suite for a
Relation
A relation, for the owner-occupied rebate, is anyone related to you by blood, marriage, common-law partnership, or adoption, and it includes a former spouse or partner. A garden suite that will be your parent’s home, or your adult child’s, is not a rental for this purpose: it goes down the Enhanced New Housing Rebate path, claimed on forms GST191 and RC7191-ON after the suite is substantially complete.
That path is simpler, because it works from the HST you actually paid on the package, the site works, the materials, and the professional fees, with no self-supply event to account for. The owner-builder guide walks through it, and the calculator gives you the permit deadline for your municipality.
House plus suite. For the owner-occupied rebate a single unit residential complex generally includes up to two residential units, so a new house with an attached or detached suite, both occupied by your family, can be one claim. Put a paying tenant in the suite and part of the project moves into rental territory, with its own forms and its own self-supply question. Ask your accountant before you decide how to use it.
Financing a Suite on Land You Already Own
A garden suite is not a purchase with a down payment. It is construction on a property you already own, often already mortgaged, and the money is needed before any rebate comes back. Since January 15, 2025 there has been a route built for exactly that.
- Refinance an insured mortgage up to 90% of the as-improved value — what the property is worth once the suite is built
- To a $2 million property cap, amortised up to 30 years, on owner-occupied properties of up to four units
- Some lender programs exclude short-term rental use, so confirm with your lender before you settle on a design
- CMHC’s insured mortgage program for factory-built homes, for financing the home itself rather than refinancing a property you own
- As little as 5% down, with funds advanced in up to four staged draws as milestones are met
- All EpicMod models meet its eligibility requirements
These are third-party programs. The summary above is ours; the CRA, CMHC and your municipality are the authorities and their published material governs. Confirm the details at the source, and with your own accountant, rather than relying on this page.
Not the $80,000 loan. The Canada Secondary Suite Loan Program announced in Budget 2024 never opened an application portal and was confirmed dead in Budget 2025. The refinance above is what replaced it. What happened to the $80,000 loan.
Budget for the HST up front. Whichever rebate path the suite takes, the HST is paid as you build and recovered after completion by filing. The financing has to carry that gap, which is the part most first projects underestimate.
Garden Suite Questions
Short answers. The CRA is the authority; your accountant applies it to your project. The rental path in particular is not a do-it-yourself filing.
Start With the Lot
A free site analysis confirms which compact models fit your backyard, setbacks, and services. It is provided by your EpicMod dealer, or arranged by EpicMod where no dealer is yet appointed. Which rebate you end up on is your accountant’s call; we can tell you what to ask.