Fee on new homes could fall by as much as $33,787 under new city plan
City proposes cutting development charges by 54% to get nearly $500M for infrastructure
Arthur White-Crummey · CBC News
Posted: Jul 14, 2026 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 14
City fees on newly built homes could fall by tens of thousands of dollars as Ottawa looks to cut development charges by more than half to get $478 million in infrastructure funding.
The money would come from an $8.8-billion federal-provincial fund that's meant to spur housing construction by lowering building costs.
Development charges are fees that cities levy on new homes to fund the cost of roads, sewers, transit, recreation centres and other infrastructure. In Ottawa, they can run as high as $62,568 for a single-family home outside the Greenbelt.
When the provincial and federal governments announced the details of the new fund early last month, they said cities would have to cut those fees by between 30 and 50 per cent to get a share of the money.
But Ottawa is looking at going even further. In a report going to city council for approval on Wednesday, staff are recommending a 54 per cent cut. Fees for a single-family home outside the greenbelt would fall to $28,781, a drop of $33,787.
Assuming council passes the plan, the fee reductions would only go into effect once the city reaches an agreement for the infrastructure funding, expected on Aug. 15.
Staff estimate that the cuts will push developers to build almost 12,000 extra homes per year.
City would face cash flow crunch
But cutting the fees will also cost the city $478 million in foregone revenue. City staff are asking for precisely that amount from the federal-provincial fund to make up the losses.
That money will fund road projects like the Brian Coburn Boulevard widening in the east and the Carp Road widening in the west, as well as sewer and pump station improvements, intersection improvements and an expansion of the Bowesville park-and-ride.
Without the federal-provincial cash, that funding would come largely from development charges under the principle that growth, not existing taxpayers, should pay the costs of growth.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/fe...-as-33-787-under-new-city-plan-9.7268849
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