Housing Grant
Burlington, Ontario

Additional Residential Unit Incentive Program

Additional Residential Units (ARUs) are self-contained living units with their own kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping areas. They are built on the same property as a primary residence, including single detached homes, semi-detached homes, and townhouses.

ARUs can be:

• Inside or attached to a main house, such as a basement apartment or garage conversion.


• In a separate standalone building, such as a backyard garden suite or permanent tiny home.

Incentive Program Overview

The ARU Incentive Program provides financial support to:

• Create new affordable rental Additional Residential Units (ARUs)
• Renovate existing ARUs to bring them into compliance with legal building codes

This program is subject to municipal funding availability. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Program Eligibility

If your application is approved, the city will provide you with comprehensive program guidelines to review before signing a Letter of Intent.

Program Incentives

Municipal Fee Waivers

The city will pay eligible municipal fees up to 100 percent for homeowners and non-profit organizations on:

• Zoning clearance certificate fees
• Building, occupancy permit, and inspection fees
• One-year on-street parking permit fees for newly constructed affordable ARUs

Forgivable Loan for Affordable Rental ARUs

This program falls under the Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP) and should be considered in conjunction with the full CIP document. The forgivable loan is available to homeowners, non-profit organizations, and businesses that are the registered or assessed owners of residential properties.

If you keep the unit affordable for 10 years, your loan officially converts into a non-repayable grant.

Incentive Amounts:

• Interior / Attached ARUs (including garage conversions): Up to $70,000 per new affordable rental unit.
• Detached ARUs: Up to $95,000 per new affordable rental unit.

Eligible ARU project costs include expenses directly associated with constructing the ARU and must be incurred after receiving a Letter of Intent with conditional approval from the City of Burlington.

Loan Terms:

• No interest charges accumulate during the term
• You must register the loan agreement on the property title at your expense
• Annual reporting to the City of Burlington is required to verify continued compliance with the agreement
• If the property is sold before the end of the term or the agreement is breached (such as by charging rent above average market rates), you will be required to repay the loan in part or in full

Application Timelines

Applications are actively open! To maintain eligibility throughout your building process, you must:

• Apply for the program within one year of receiving your zoning clearance
• Obtain your required municipal building permits promptly upon project approval
• Secure an occupancy permit and have the unit occupied within one year of receiving your conditional Letter of Intent

If you are unable to meet these conditional timelines, you may need to reapply based on current program fund availability.

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