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Take action on housing
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Image by Shivendu Shukla

Learn more and see what we are working towards. 

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Experts share solutions that get you on the property ladder.

Governments don't build homes. Demand real solutions.

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These political promises fail renters, proven research shows.

 Why is Canada's Housing So Unaffordable? 

The answer is: not foreign buyers, not flippers, not speculators, not investors, not short-term rental providers.
Blame governments.

This site cuts through the spin that governments use to point fingers at anyone but themselves. Find the answers by exploring our real, researched  examples of how governments are making affordable homes to buy or rent even harder to build. We hope this searchable format for media, public, academics, builders, urban planners & governments is helpful.

Welcome to Homes Not Bank Machines. We advocate for housing solutions – like reduced government taxes, fees and regulatory burdens – to make homes more affordable for everyone in Canada. For too long, too many generations have been shut out of home ownership or rentals for all budgets as greedy governments demand more taxes and fees or ideological regulations, adding to construction costs. Thousands of homes aren't getting built because the end price is too high for anyone to afford. See which provinces fail on fees here.

Did you know at least one third of the cost to buy or rent a new home in Vancouver is directly related to four levels of government fees, taxes, charges and "red tape" regulations … and growing to as high as 35 per cent in some cities. A dizzying array of government-imposed fees using jargon labels like DCCs, or CACs, or DCLs or ACCs, all ADD COSTS that buyers and renters pay in the end.

Similarly, a new two-bedroom unit in Toronto means builders (and ultimately buyers or renters) pay a development charge (DC) of approximately $88,000, up from only $8,000 ten years ago.

Ontario housing fees on builders are out of control

 Hammering Home-Builders with Growing Taxes & Fees 

You can erroneously blame builders for “greed,” or you put the blame where it belongs...
Government fees and costs consume
about 1/3 for a new Vancouver apartment,
often hidden in prices and rents.
This growing government bite also occurs in other cities with poor housing affordability, like Toronto.

 

 Vancouver 

  • For an apartment priced at $1.1 million, that’s $327,565 going to governments. 
     

  • And those costs are about 33 per cent of average monthly rent.  Buyers and renters ultimately pay all these hidden costs. 
     

  • See for yourself here.

 Toronto 

  • One eastern real estate analyst dubs these fees the Great Housing Daylight Robbery”. These fees saw an eye-watering growth of more than 1,000 % since 2001!
     

  • The July 17, 2025 Globe & Mail editorial board wrote how "Toronto city council opted earlier this year to freeze development charges at 2024 levels, but only after they had risen sharply," up "nearly 50 per cent from 2022 to 2024." And, all those fees and taxes should be transparent, not hidden, they argue. 

Why is housing so unaffordable in Canada?

 Are Governments Just Helping Themselves? 

Do Government's Housing Plans Deliver "More Bureaucracy than Bedrooms?"   

Global News screenshot mayoral salaries
  • Homebuyers and renters may not realize that hidden government fees are baked into the price of every home and being used to expand the size and scope of governments. Builders have to pay these costs upfront, so they’re passed down—just like stores include taxes and fees in the price of everyday items.
     

  • Governments at all levels are taxing homes like they're cigarettes or alcohol to fund ever-growing bureaucracies federally, provincially and regionally with salaries comparable to a US President at $400,000 (USD).

Toronto Councillors award themselves giant pay raise
  • Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) federal government executives are earning $410K on average. That may explain their mortgage insurance premium hike that skyrocketed 28.7% in 2024.
     

  • Did you know CMHC, (est. 1946) began paying billions in "dividends" to the federal government in 2017?  Those funds come from CMHC - mortgaged homeowners like you or homebuilders' loans.

Housing is so expensive because governments are adding fees and taxes to cover their giant pay increases

 Can you move into a government "plan", "housing approval" or "target"? 

You can't live in a "target", only a "completion". News flash: Governments don't "build" homes. Their unachievable "plans" don't deliver anything but headlines that buy votes and build larger bureaucracies.
Toronto is now seeing the fewest homes built 
in 30 years. Thousands of "approved" homes in Metro Vancouver cities aren't being built because government-imposed costs are too high.
Trades and other job losses are massive.

You can't live in a government "housing target".
Government housing promises fall flat
Toronto Mayor promises housing that just doesn't deliver
How many housing targets were achieved?

 Top Three Housing Helpers? 

1. Reduce Growing Government Fees & Taxes on Housing in Canada.
2. Remove Rent Controls on New Building To Create More Homes.
3. Approve Housing Faster by Removing Red Tape Regulations. 

Hear from homebuilders why affordable housing is harder to build
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 Hear from home-builders, tax experts, academics & opinion leaders 

Being featured here or any website page does not imply formal membership in the coalition or endorsement. 

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Homes Not Bank Machines Coalition

We are a coalition of concerned professional homebuilders, property tax experts, academics and citizens who want Canada's housing made more affordable with reductions in government costs. Homes are for living, not looting by greedy governments.  Rising taxes, fees and regulatory costs are demolishing homebuilding plans. #homesnotbankmachines

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Address: #133 - 2912 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6K 0E9  

Phone: 1-778-719 - HOME (4663)

©2026 HomesNotBankMachines.com 

 

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Most unaffordable Canadian housing markets
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