Under the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, municipalities were provided until January 1, 2025 to issue notices of intention to designate or else face automatic removal of properties listed on their heritage registers as of December 31, 2022. The Homeowner Protection Act, 2024 (Bill 200) received Royal Assent on June 6, 2024, and provides municipalities with an additional two years, to January 1, 2027, to either issue notices of intention to designate legacy properties listed on their heritage registers, or otherwise have such listed properties automatically removed.
The Homeowner Protection Act, 2024 maintains that in the event a property is not designated as of the revised date of January 1, 2027, a municipality may not relist or designate a property for five years. The Act also closes a potential loophole that may have permitted municipalities to voluntarily clear listed properties from the registry to avoid the five year prohibition on relisting. New provisions clarify that de-listed properties will also generally be subject to a five year relisting prohibition.
Ultimately, the Homeowner Protection Act, 2024 will allow municipalities more time to prepare potential notices of intention to designate and to consider the properties listed within its heritage registers. Landowners, however, hoping to receive confirmation of the heritage status of their property may be left in listed limbo for a few more years.
These changes are now in effect.
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