Region of Waterloo Property Tax Exemption Program

The Property Tax Exemption Program allows participating affordable housing providers to have portions of the Region and education property taxes exempt to help them acquire and maintain buildings and keep rents low in the long-term. The program aims to maintain affordable housing buildings that exist in the Waterloo Region, and support housing providers who are committed to affordable rents. 

The Property Tax Exemption Program was made to create and preserve affordable housing for low-to-moderate-income renters.

Applications are now being accepted on a rolling basis.

Apply now through the Property Tax Exemption Program form.  

Average Market Rents in Waterloo Region:

Affordability for the 2025 application year means rent is at or below 80% of Average Market Rent (AMR) in the Kitchener – Cambridge - Waterloo Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) by unit type:

*Note: Affordability for units in rooming/lodging houses is determined using Ontario Priorities Housing Initiatives (OPHI) Guidelines, which determines affordable rooming/lodging house units to have rents at or below 60% of AMR for 1-bedroom units.

Participation in the Program:

Participating housing providers will be required to complete an annual review of the affordable units offered under the Program. This will include rent rolls, documentation of any unit vacancies, and income testing for new tenants. Please note that existing tenants are not required to be income tested.

Housing providers have two options for filling affordable unit vacancies:

1. Income test new tenants before occupancy using the Income Testing Guide to ensure they fall under the maximum income for the unit type; or
2. Select new tenants from the Waterloo Region centralized community housing waitlist.

 The following table shows the 2024 income limits for affordable vacant units by unit type:

About the process:

The Region will be collecting applications for the Property Tax Exemption for the Affordable Housing program on a rolling basis. Housing providers must submit an application for each property they wish to apply to the program with, except for projects listed under the Housing Services Act, 2011. Housing providers under the Housing Services Act, 2011 may submit one application expressing interest in participating in the program.

Housing Providers will be asked to fill out appendices after an application is submitted. Please note that the Region will be unable to process applications that do not fill out appendices. Housing Providers under the Housing Service Act, 2011 are not required to fill out appendices, as the Region already collects this information.

The Region will review and evaluate applications on completeness, meeting the program criteria, and financial standing. Evaluation will be based on a pass-or-fail model and the Region will reach out to applicants if there are questions, concerns, or missing applicant information. Please expect one to two months for the Region to process your application.

Please see the Income Testing Guide for the Property Tax Exemption for Affordable Housing Program for more information on income testing. 

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their evaluation. The Region will enter into agreements with successful applicants following the application review. Once an agreement is complete, the Region will then notify the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) to process the exemption. Please note that MPAC may take six months to a year to implement the adjustment to property tax. This means that successful applicants may receive an unadjusted tax bill in the first year of being granted the exemption, but a supplementary tax bill will make the adjustment to reflect the exemption in the following year. For applications received after August in a calendar year, please expect MPAC to process exemptions in the next calendar year. 

Helpful Documents:

Property Tax Exemption for Affordable Housing Program

Frequently Asked Questions for the Property Tax Exemption for Affordable Housing Program