On Tuesday, December 8, 2020, the B.C. government introduced legislation to amend the Home Owner Grant Act. These amendments are the first step to centralizing the home owner grant program for the 2021 tax year. The proposed amendments do not change the eligibility criteria for the program. Regulations are required to enable the Province to begin accepting applications.
What this means:
- The Province will be entirely responsible for the home owner grant program for the 2021 tax year.
- All home owners will apply directly to the Province online or over the phone.
- The provincial application will be available early in the new year, subject to the deposit of the regulations. Work on the regulations is currently underway.
- Starting Jan. 1, 2021, Municipalities will no longer accept retroactive or new applications for the grant and instead direct homeowners to gov.bc.ca/homeownergrant