Can I own property in Canada?

A citizen of Canada living abroad: Yes. A Canadian citizen living abroad buys like any citizen, but as a non-resident owner may owe the annual Underused Housing Tax return and faces Part XIII withholding on rent. A foreign national: No. The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act bars a non-citizen, non-permanent-resident from buying a home of three units or fewer in a census metropolitan area or agglomeration until 1 January 2027, with narrow exceptions. Outside those areas, and for larger buildings, the ban does not apply, but Ontario adds a 25 percent Non-Resident Speculation Tax and British Columbia a 20 percent additional transfer tax in its main regions.

Does the rent agreement need registering?

Never for a residential tenancy.

Who withholds tax on the rent, and how much?

The tenant or the Canadian property manager who pays the rent to the non-resident. Where there is no Canadian agent the non-resident must remit it themselves. Under the treaty: Twenty-five percent of gross rent under Part XIII by default; the treaty does not lower it. File Form NR6 with a Canadian agent to withhold on net rent, then the section 216 return; the Canadian tax is credited on Form 1116.

How does the rent reach me in United States?

A non-resident may open a Canadian account in person at the major banks on a passport and proof of address; some start the application online. A property manager's trust account is the alternative. No capital controls and no exit tax. Rent moves abroad by wire or a remittance service; nothing to declare beyond the tax filings. No limit and no declaration for the transfer itself; the income was already reportable when earned.

Renting out property in Canada while living in United States

Canada's rules for a landlord living in United States: ownership, the rent agreement, who withholds tax, and how the rent reaches you.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and your situation may differ. Check the sources on this page and confirm with a lawyer or accountant in the country before you act.

Desk research Last reviewed 1 October 2026 Report an inaccuracy

The short answers

Can I own property in Canada?: A citizen of Canada living abroad: Yes. A Canadian citizen living abroad buys like any citizen, but as a non-resident owner may owe the annual Underused Housing Tax return and faces Part XIII withholding on rent.; A foreign national: No. The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act bars a non-citizen, non-permanent-resident from buying a home of three units or fewer in a census metropolitan area or agglomeration until 1 January 2027, with narrow exceptions. Outside those areas, and for larger buildings, the ban does not apply, but Ontario adds a 25 percent Non-Resident Speculation Tax and British Columbia a 20 percent additional transfer tax in its main regions.
Does the rent agreement need registering?: Never for a residential tenancy.
Who withholds tax on the rent, and how much?: The tenant or the Canadian property manager who pays the rent to the non-resident. Where there is no Canadian agent the non-resident must remit it themselves. Under the treaty: Twenty-five percent of gross rent under Part XIII by default; the treaty does not lower it. File Form NR6 with a Canadian agent to withhold on net rent, then the section 216 return; the Canadian tax is credited on Form 1116.
How does the rent reach me in United States?: A non-resident may open a Canadian account in person at the major banks on a passport and proof of address; some start the application online. A property manager's trust account is the alternative.; No capital controls and no exit tax. Rent moves abroad by wire or a remittance service; nothing to declare beyond the tax filings.; No limit and no declaration for the transfer itself; the income was already reportable when earned.

Renting out property in Canada

What applies because the property is in Canada, whoever owns it.

Who may own residential property

Who may own residential property, by audience
Citizens living in the country	Allowed Anywhere.
Residents of any nationality	With conditions A permanent resident buys like a citizen. A temporary resident on a work or study permit is caught by the federal ban unless they meet its exceptions, such as a work-permit holder who has lived in Canada for the required period.
Citizens living abroad	Allowed A Canadian citizen living abroad buys like any citizen, but as a non-resident owner may owe the annual Underused Housing Tax return and faces Part XIII withholding on rent.
Foreign nationals living abroad	Not allowed The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act bars a non-citizen, non-permanent-resident from buying a home of three units or fewer in a census metropolitan area or agglomeration until 1 January 2027, with narrow exceptions. Outside those areas, and for larger buildings, the ban does not apply, but Ontario adds a 25 percent Non-Resident Speculation Tax and British Columbia a 20 percent additional transfer tax in its main regions.

Letting it out from abroad

May a non-resident owner let it: Yes, with no permit. Tax, not property law, is what a non-resident landlord must set up first.
Licences, permits, landlord registration: Municipal. Short-term rental licensing and principal-residence rules in most large cities; some cities license long-term rentals too.
Local agent or representative: No, but a property manager is the practical answer because a Canadian agent is what lets the landlord withhold on net rent rather than gross.

The rent agreement

Written agreement required: Provincial. Ontario requires its standard lease for every residential tenancy; Quebec requires the Tribunal's mandatory form; other provinces require writing in practice and give tenants statutory terms whatever the paper says.
Mandatory standard form: Ontario: the standard form of lease, mandatory since 2018. Quebec: the Tribunal administratif du logement's lease form, mandatory for every dwelling. British Columbia and Alberta publish standard forms that most landlords use.
Language: English or French. Quebec's form is in French with an English version; the tenant may require French.
Registry: None. Residential leases are not registered anywhere.
When registration is required: Never for a residential tenancy.
Who registers: Not applicable
Registration cost: Not applicable
If it is not registered: Not applicable
Stamp duty: None on leases. Land transfer tax is paid on purchase, not on letting.
Notarisation and witnesses: None required.
E-signature: Valid in every province under its electronic commerce law, Ontario's Electronic Commerce Act 2000 among them, and under Part 2 of the federal PIPEDA. Any platform works; there is no national identity scheme for signing.
The usual term: Twelve months, then month to month by law in most provinces. Quebec leases run for a year and renew automatically unless the tenant declines.

Rules the agreement must respect

Deposit: Provincial, and the strictest in the common-law world. Ontario allows only a rent deposit of one month, used for the last month, with interest, and no damage deposit at all. British Columbia allows a security deposit of half a month's rent. Quebec allows no deposit of any kind.
Rent increases: Provincial. Ontario caps increases at a yearly guideline for units first occupied before November 2018, once a year with ninety days' notice on the Board's form. Quebec's Tribunal sets a recommended increase that a tenant can refuse and refer. British Columbia caps increases annually.
Notice periods: Provincial. Ontario tenants give sixty days; landlords can end a tenancy only on statutory grounds through the Landlord and Tenant Board. Quebec tenants give notice before renewal; landlords rarely can end a lease at all.
Disputes: A provincial tribunal, not a court: Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board, Quebec's Tribunal administratif du logement, British Columbia's Residential Tenancy Branch. Eviction without an order is unlawful everywhere.
Mandatory disclosures: Ontario: the standard lease itself and its mandatory information section. Elsewhere a shorter list; no federal disclosure.

Tax when the landlord lives abroad

Is the rent taxed here: Yes. Rent from Canadian property is Canadian-source income. Without an election it is taxed at a flat 25 percent of gross rent under Part XIII; with the section 216 election it is taxed at graduated rates on net rent, which is almost always better.
Withholding at source: Yes
Withholding rate: 25 percent of gross rent under Part XIII, remitted monthly to the Canada Revenue Agency.
Who withholds: The tenant or the Canadian property manager who pays the rent to the non-resident. Where there is no Canadian agent the non-resident must remit it themselves.
What the tenant must register: The payer opens a non-resident tax account with the Canada Revenue Agency, remits by the fifteenth of the following month and files the NR4 return and slips each year.
How to reduce it: The landlord and a Canadian agent file Form NR6 before the year begins, so withholding is taken on net rent after expenses instead of gross; the landlord must then file the section 216 return by 30 June. A tax treaty does not reduce the 25 percent on rent itself.
Filing and tax ID: A section 216 return on Form T1159 each year, with a Canadian tax number, to recover the difference between what was withheld and the tax actually due. A non-resident owner of residential property may also have to file the annual Underused Housing Tax return by 30 April, even to claim an exemption. Selling needs a section 116 certificate or the buyer withholds 25 percent of the price.
VAT or GST on rent: None on long-term residential rent, which is GST and HST exempt. Short-term rentals are taxable.
Municipal and housing fees: Annual property tax to the municipality, paid by the owner; Ontario's tax bill also carries education levies. Condominium fees are the owner's.

Money inside the country

How tenants pay: Interac e-Transfer, pre-authorised debit or cheque. Cash is legal but rare.
Currency of rent: CAD
Bank account for a non-resident owner: A non-resident may open a Canadian account in person at the major banks on a passport and proof of address; some start the application online. A property manager's trust account is the alternative.
Paying rent to an overseas account: Allowed; Part XIII withholding applies regardless of where the money is sent.
Taking rent out of the country: No capital controls and no exit tax. Rent moves abroad by wire or a remittance service; nothing to declare beyond the tax filings.

Living in United States

What United States asks of its residents who own and let property abroad.

Owning property abroad from here

Buying abroad: No restriction. A US person may buy property anywhere the other country allows and move money out freely.
Reporting foreign assets and accounts: Foreign bank accounts over USD 10,000 in aggregate must be reported each year to FinCEN on the FBAR, and specified foreign financial assets on Form 8938 above its thresholds. Directly held foreign real estate is not itself reportable, but the account the rent lands in is.
Tax at home on foreign rent: Taxed. US citizens and residents are taxed on worldwide income wherever they live; foreign rent goes on Schedule E and foreign tax paid on it is credited through Form 1116.
Bringing rent home: No limit and no declaration for the transfer itself; the income was already reportable when earned.
Digital identity for e-signing: There is no national digital identity. Any e-signature platform the foreign side accepts does the job, or a notarised paper signature where the other country insists.

Between United States and Canada

What applies to this pair of countries in particular.

Tax treaty between the two countries: Yes
Withholding under the treaty: Twenty-five percent of gross rent under Part XIII by default; the treaty does not lower it. File Form NR6 with a Canadian agent to withhold on net rent, then the section 216 return; the Canadian tax is credited on Form 1116.
The usual vehicle for this corridor: A Canadian property manager; a section 216 return; the Canadian account on the FBAR.
Banking blocks: A US citizen without Canadian permanent residence is a non-Canadian under the federal purchase ban in metropolitan areas until 1 January 2027.
What most people do: Buy where the ban allows, file NR6 and the section 216 return, report the rent on Schedule E with Form 1116, and the account on the FBAR.

Sources

CMHC: Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act — www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Ontario: Non-Resident Speculation Tax — www.ontario.ca
British Columbia: additional property transfer tax for foreign buyers — www2.gov.bc.ca
Canada Revenue Agency: Underused Housing Tax — www.canada.ca
Canada Revenue Agency: NR4, non-resident tax withholding, remitting and reporting — www.canada.ca
Canada Revenue Agency: T4144, income tax guide for electing under section 216 — www.canada.ca
Canada Revenue Agency: Foreign Income Verification Statement (T1135) — www.canada.ca
Canada Revenue Agency: line 40500, federal foreign tax credit — www.canada.ca
Ontario: guide to Ontario's standard lease — www.ontario.ca
Ontario: Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 — www.ontario.ca
Tribunal administratif du logement (Quebec): what is a lease — www.tal.gouv.qc.ca
British Columbia: tenancy deposits and fees — www2.gov.bc.ca
Income Tax Department of India: the India–Canada tax treaty — www.incometaxindia.gov.in
IRS Publication 515: withholding of tax on nonresident aliens (rents, the 30 percent rule, Form W-8ECI) — www.irs.gov
IRS Publication 519: U.S. tax guide for aliens (the real property income election) — www.irs.gov
IRS: FIRPTA withholding on the sale of U.S. real property by a foreign person — www.irs.gov
IRS: how to apply for an ITIN — www.irs.gov
IRS: instructions for Form 1040-NR — www.irs.gov
IRS: the foreign tax credit — www.irs.gov
IRS: Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) — www.irs.gov
FinCEN: report foreign bank and financial accounts — www.fincen.gov
IRS: United States income tax treaties, A to Z — www.irs.gov
eCFR: 24 CFR Part 35 Subpart A, lead-based paint disclosure on sale or lease — www.ecfr.gov
GovInfo: Public Law 106-229, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act — www.govinfo.gov
Florida Senate: SB 264 (2023), interests of foreign countries in real property — www.flsenate.gov
USDA: Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act reporting portal — www.usda.gov
California Legislature: AB 12 (2023), security deposits capped at one month — leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Income Tax Department of India: the India–USA tax treaty — www.incometaxindia.gov.in