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What was considered eligible rent

Status: Closed

Rent that was eligible for the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit referred to payments you made:

What was a principal residence

For this benefit, your principal residence was the place where you normally lived and paid rent in 2022.

This could have been any abode, dwelling or other place rented. Examples of principal residence included a house, cottage, condominium, apartment in an apartment building, apartment in a duplex, college or university residence, trailer, mobile home, or houseboat.

Generally, you would have had only one principal residence at a time, unless you were living apart from a spouse or common-law partner.

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What was not included in rent

Eligible rent only included payments for your qualifying principal residences paid from January 1 to December 31, 2022. Amounts paid before or after 2022 were not eligible.

Meals, board or other services

Any payment that was specified on the lease for meals, board or other services was not eligible.

If the rent you paid included an amount for meals, board or other services, but the portion of rent that went towards these services was not specified on the lease, only 90% of the total amount of rent you paid was eligible.

Utilities and taxes that were not part of the rental agreement

Payments for utilities or property taxes could not be included if they were either:

  • not part of the rental agreement
  • paid to a person or entity who was not a party to the lease, licence or arrangement

Business expense deductions

Any payments that were deducted as a business expense were not eligible rent amounts.

Rent for capital lease type arrangements

Any payments of rent to own or other capital lease type arrangements, where all or a portion of the rent went towards the purchase of the property, were not eligible rent amounts.

Rent paid to a parent or another relative

If you paid rent to a parent or another relative, this was eligible as rent only if the payment was considered by the CRA as rental income for tax purposes for the parent or relative who received it.

Amounts paid to a landlord by an assistance program

Any payments made by a social assistance program or provincial or territorial rental assistance program directly to your landlord on your behalf were not eligible rent amounts. Only payments that you paid to a landlord as rent were eligible.

If your marital status changed in 2022

If you got married in 2022

Before or on December 1, 2022:

If you got married in 2022 before or on December 1, 2022, only one spouse was eligible to receive the one-time payment. If you were the spouse who applied you could have:

  • included rent you paid in 2022 before you were married
  • included rent your spouse paid in 2022 before you were married
  • included rent you paid as a married couple in 2022

After December 1, 2022:

If you got married in 2022 after December 1, 2022, your marital status remained, for the purpose of this benefit, as it was prior to you getting married. This meant, if you were single or widowed and you got married after December 1, 2022, then you would have still been considered as single or widowed for this benefit.

In your application you could have:

  • included the total amount of rent you paid in 2022 up to the day before you got married
  • included your portion of the total amount of rent paid in 2022 by you and your cohabiting spouse or common-law partner from the day you got married
If you got separated or divorced in 2022

Separation is when a married or common-law couple lives apart more than 90 days, due to a breakdown in their relationship. To be considered separated for this benefit and apply individually, you must have been separated before December 1, 2022 and 90 days must have passed since the separation before you submitted your application.

Before or on December 1, 2022:

If you got separated or divorced in 2022 before or on December 1, 2022, each spouse or common-law partner was eligible to receive the one-time payment after 90 days had passed since the separation.

In your application you could have:

  • included your portion of the total amount of rent paid in 2022 by you and your cohabiting spouse or common-law partner up to the day before you started living separate and apart
  • included the total amount of rent you paid in 2022 starting on the first day you were living separate and apart

In your former spouse's or common-law partner's application, they could have:

  • included their portion of the total amount of rent paid in 2022 by you and your cohabiting spouse or common-law partner up to the day before you started living separate and apart
  • included the total amount of rent they paid in 2022 starting on the first day you were living separate and apart

If you had separated due to a breakdown in your relationship but you had not yet been separated for a period of at least 90 days, you needed to wait until 90 days had passed before you were able to apply for this benefit as an individual.

After December 1, 2022:

If you got separated or divorced in 2022 after December 1, 2022, your marital status remained, for the purpose of this benefit, as it was prior to you getting separated or divorced. This meant you were still considered married for this benefit.

Only one spouse or common-law partner was eligible to receive the one-time payment. If both you and your spouse or common-law partner applied, the first one to apply received the benefit.

If you applied, you could have:

  • included rent you paid as a married couple in 2022
  • included rent you paid in 2022 after you were separated or divorced
  • included rent your former spouse paid in 2022 after you were separated or divorced
If you became widowed in 2022

If you became widowed in 2022, in your application you could have:

  • included the total amount of rent paid in 2022 by you and your cohabiting spouse or common-law partner up to the day before you became widowed
  • included the total amount of rent you paid in 2022 starting on the first day you became widowed

If you lived apart from your spouse or common-law partner

If you lived in two principal residences due to physical separation

You and your spouse or common-law partner might have lived in two principal residences due to physical separation (for example, one spouse went away to school or one common-law partner was away for work purposes).

If you and your spouse or common-law partner lived in two different principal residences at any point in 2022, and living apart was not due to a breakdown in the relationship, only one spouse or common-law partner was eligible to receive the one-time payment. If you were the spouse or common-law partner who applied, you could have:

  • included the total amount of rent paid in 2022 for both principal residences, regardless of which spouse or common-law partner paid the rent
If you lived apart due to a breakdown in your relationship

If, due to a breakdown in the relationship, you and your spouse or common-law partner lived apart at least 90 days, the CRA considered you as separated.

Eligible rent if your marital status changed in 2022

If you moved

If you moved during 2022, you could have included eligible rent paid in 2022 for all principal residences you lived in during 2022 for the time that they were your primary residence.

If you shared rent

In the case of rent payments shared by multiple families or individuals (roommates) living at the same address, even if only one individual was making the payments to the landlord, you could have:

  • each applied as separate family units or individuals
  • each entered the portion of the rent that you paid

If you paid rent to a parent or another relative.

If you lived in a mobile home

Eligible rent included lot rental fees for your principal residence, such as for a mobile home. Lot rental fees must have been under a lease, licence or similar arrangement to qualify as rent.

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