Real Property Policy Notice 2026-1: Amendments to the Directive on the Management of Real Property and the Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments in Support of Housing
Date:
Overview
In , the government launched Build Canada Homes, a new federal agency that will build affordable housing at scale. Build Canada Homes has been tasked to move quickly and invest in the development of public land sites in partnership with industry, other orders of government and Indigenous communities. In , the Build Canada Homes Act received royal assent, establishing Build Canada Homes as a Crown corporation.
Changes to the Directive on the Management of Real Property and the Policy on the Planning and Management of Investments have been made to support the government’s housing agenda by simplifying the sale or transfer of federal properties in support of housing.
Application
As a first step, all surplus federal real property will be assessed by Build Canada Homes for housing suitability. Only when a property has been identified as suitable for housing will the disposal process differ, notably:
- Public Services and Procurement Canada is the mandatory service provider for disposals of housing-suitable property. This means it will be responsible for selling or transferring housing-suitable property on behalf of all departments unless it provides an exception.
- While all legal obligations must continue to be fulfilled, policy-related due diligence activities (for example, some environmental or heritage assessments) are now discretionary.
- There is no longer a requirement to collect public purpose interests because housing has been identified as the highest-priority public purpose.
- Disposals supporting housing may be offered at reduced prices (as low as net book value) to Build Canada Homes, Indigenous groups, and not-for-profit organizations and do not require appraisals.
- Build Canada Homes has been given priority access to acquire housing-suitable properties, replacing the previous priority access held by Canada Lands Company. This is aligned with the updated mandates of both organizations.
Disposals of real property that are not intended to support housing will continue to follow the existing process, including completion of all policy-related due diligence and collection of public purpose interests.
Departments must continue to responsibly exercise their real property authorities. This includes maintaining the government’s commitment to fairness, openness and transparency in all acquisition and disposal processes.
With any real property transaction, departments are required to ensure that proper controls, oversight and processes are in place. Senior designated officials for real property are advised to update their departmental real property management framework as needed to reflect these amendments.
Enquiries
Questions about this policy notice can be directed to the TBS Investment Management Sector at tbs-sctinvestmentmanagement-gestiondesinvestissements@tbs-sct.gc.ca.