FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Toronto, ON — December 4, 2025 — ABC Toronto today announced a practical, high-impact affordability measure designed to ease the financial shock facing first-time homebuyers. The First Home Start Plan would allow eligible buyers to pay Toronto’s share of the municipal land transfer tax over 10 years (interest free), instead of being forced to pay the full amount upfront on closing day.
For many first time home buyers, the time they have the least cash on hand is when they are closing on their first home. After scraping together a down payment, then they’re hit with a second bill that can easily exceed 20% of the down payment itself. Toronto doesn’t need to make that moment harder, especially when Toronto needs to attract residents into the City and when there’s a simple fix.
If the City of Toronto is serious about affordability, then it should take a common sense approach to reducing barriers facing first-time buyers. Despite record housing costs, the city still demands a lump-sum land transfer tax from first-time. Under our proposal, first-time buyers could roll their municipal land transfer tax into their annual property tax bill interest free and repay it over a decade. If they sell before the 10-year period ends, the remaining balance is automatically commuted and paid at closing. The city still collects every dollar owed just on a deferred basis to reduce the burden on first-time home buyers.
Why It Matters
· On a typical $1.5 million starter home in Toronto, the municipal land transfer tax is about $26,500, payable immediately upon closing.
· The minimum down payment on that same home is $125,000, meaning the land transfer tax alone eats up more than 20% of a first-time buyer’s down payment.
· The measure has minimal impact on city finances. Revenue isn’t reduced, just deferred.
· It supports buyers, not speculators. Only first-time purchasers qualify, and all taxes must be fully settled when the home is eventually sold.
A Smart, Targeted Step Toward Housing Attainability
The First Home Start Plan doesn’t distort the market, fuel bidding wars, or require taxpayer subsidies. It simply lets first-time buyers keep more of their own money at the exact moment they need it most. Toronto can’t solve the entire housing crisis overnight, but it can stop punishing first-time buyers with a lump-sum tax bill before they even get the keys. For years, the city has chosen to lecture residents about affordability rather than deliver practical, immediate solutions. ABC Toronto is calling on the City to adopt this policy now because young families deserve action, not excuses.
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