What is a principal residence

Your principal residence can be any of the following types of housing units:

• a house
• a cottage
• a condominium
• an apartment in an apartment building
• an apartment in a duplex
• a trailer, mobile home, or houseboat

A property has to qualify to be a principal residence.

How does a property qualify

A property qualifies as your principal residence for any year if it meets all of the following four conditions:

• It is a housing unit, a leasehold interest in a housing unit, or a share of the capital stock of a co-operative housing corporation you acquire only to get the right to inhabit a housing unit owned by that corporation
• You own the property alone or jointly with another person
• You, your current or former spouse or common-law partner, or any of your children lived in it at some time during the year
• You designate the property as your principal residence

The land on which your home is located can be part of your principal residence. Usually, the amount of land that you can consider as part of your principal residence is limited to half of a hectare (1.24 acres). However, if you can show that you need more land to use and enjoy your home, you can consider more than this amount as part of your principal residence. For example, this may happen if the minimum lot size imposed by a municipality at the time you bought the property is larger than half of a hectare.

Forms and publications

• Guide T4036, Rental Income
• Guide T4037, Capital Gains
• Schedule 3, Capital Gains or Losses
• Form T2091(IND), Designation of a Property as a Principal Residence by an Individual (Other Than a Personal Trust)
• Form T2091(IND)-WS, Principal Residence Worksheet
• Form T1255, Designation of a Property as a Principal Residence by the Legal Representative of a Deceased Individual
• Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C2, Principal Residence

Related topics

• Lines 12599 and 12600 – Rental income
• Lines 13499 to 14300 – Self-employment income