Client Resources for Buyers & Sellers

Buying or selling in Ottawa comes with a lot of moving parts — lenders, lawyers, utilities, school zones, permits, neighbourhood research and more. I’ve pulled together the most useful official links and tools in one place so you can get answers quickly.

If you ever want help interpreting what you find (zoning, taxes, neighbourhood trends, etc.), just reach out.

Ottawa maps, zoning & neighbourhood research

GeoOttawa (City mapping + zoning layers)
Use this to explore zoning, property parcels, road projects, floodplains, aerial imagery, and more.

• geoOttawa (geoOttawa)

Open Ottawa (datasets + maps hub)
Great for public datasets and additional map tools.

• Open Ottawa – Maps (Open Ottawa)

Crime & community safety maps

These tools help you understand reported incidents and trends by area (useful context, not the full story of a neighbourhood).

• Ottawa Police – Crime Map (Year-to-Date) (ArcGIS Experience Builder)

• Ottawa Police – Maps portal (crime trends, shootings, overdose calls, etc.) (Ottawa Police Data Portal)

Mortgage calculators & affordability tools

A few reliable calculators to help you ballpark payments, affordability, and insurance premiums:

• CMHC Mortgage Calculator (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)

  CMHC Homebuying Calculators (affordability, debt service, insurance premium, etc.) (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)

• FCAC Mortgage Calculator (Government of Canada) (iTools)

First-Time Home Buyer Incentives

Rules can change, so always confirm eligibility with your lender/lawyer/accountant.

1) First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

A registered account for first-time buyers: contributions are generally tax-deductible and qualifying withdrawals are tax-free.

2) Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)

Withdraw from your RRSP to buy/build a qualifying home (repay over time).

3) First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit (Home buyers’ amount)

A federal non-refundable tax credit you may be able to claim when you buy a qualifying home.

4) Ontario Land Transfer Tax Refund (First-Time Buyers)

Ontario may refund all or part of the provincial land transfer tax for eligible first-time homebuyers.

5) GST/HST New Housing Rebate (new builds / substantial renovations)

May allow eligible buyers to recover some GST/HST on a qualifying new or substantially renovated home.

6) First-time home buyers’ (FTHB) GST/HST rebate

A proposed rebate aimed at reducing/eliminating the federal portion of GST/HST on qualifying new homes (details and eligibility on the official pages).

My Service Ottawa Portal, Property taxes & assessment

My service Ottawa Portal

• My Service Ottawa Sign-in

Vacant Unit Tax

• VUT details

Estimate property taxes (City of Ottawa)

• City of Ottawa – Property Tax Estimator (propertytaxes-taxesfoncieres.ottawa.ca)

Understand / review your assessed value (MPAC)

• MPAC AboutMyProperty (MPAC)

Utilities setup for Ottawa moves

Electricity

• Hydro Ottawa – Moving (start/stop/transfer) (hydroottawa.com)

Natural Gas

• Enbridge Gas – Move/Change/Close Service (myaccount.enbridgegas.com)

Water & sewer (City of Ottawa)

If you’re buying/selling, the City has guidance on ownership changes and billing.

• City of Ottawa – Water utility bills (City of Ottawa)

• City of Ottawa – Change of ownership (water billing) (City of Ottawa)

Rural properties (often Hydro One)

• Hydro One – Moving Requests (Hydro One)

Quick tip to include on your page: Book utility changes early where possible (some providers recommend lead time). Hydro Ottawa notes completing requests in advance. (hydroottawa.com)

Garbage, recycling & “what goes where”

• City of Ottawa – Garbage & Recycling Collection Calendar (City of Ottawa)

• City of Ottawa – Waste Explorer (search any item) (City of Ottawa)

School boundaries & rankings

School zones can matter a lot — always confirm boundaries directly:

• OCDSB School Locator (OCDSB)

• OCSB School Boundaries / Locator (The Ottawa Catholic School Board)

• Optional “backup” lookup: Ontario School Finder (Ontario)

• Fraser Institute - school rankings

Transit & commuting tools

• OC Transpo Travel Planner (octranspo.com)

• OC Transpo System Map / Network Map (octranspo.com)

Permits & renovations

If you’re buying a fixer-upper or prepping to sell, here’s where to start:

• City of Ottawa – Applying for a Building Permit (City of Ottawa)

• City of Ottawa – Building & renovating hub (City of Ottawa)

Address changes & mail forwarding

• Canada Post – Mail Forwarding (Canada Post)

• Ontario – Change my address (provincial services) (Ontario)

Land transfer tax info

For Ontario’s official overview (and NRST info):

• Ontario Government – Land Transfer Tax (Ontario)

Ottawa real estate market stats

If you like following the market month-to-month:

• OREB News Releases (oreb.ca)

• CREA Stats – Ottawa board (CREA Stats)

Links are provided for convenience. Information may change and should be verified directly with the source. Maps and crime data show reported incidents and may not capture all factors that shape a neighbourhood.