Development Charges

Payment of development charges may be required for residential and non-residential development when:

• Constructing a new building(s)
• Adding to or altering an existing building(s) which increases the floor area or number of units
• Redeveloping a property or properties, resulting in a change of use.

Please refer to the Development Charges By-law 2022-068 (pdf) for more information.

Our development charge rates are subject to annual indexing on April 1 in accordance with the most recent twelve month change in the Statistics Canada Quarterly, Construction Price Statistics (Non-residential Building Construction Price Index).

• DC rates are also subject to change if an amendment to the by-law or a new development charge by-law is passed by Council.
• DCs are calculated at the rate in effect at the time of building permit issuance for all development with planning applications made prior to January 1, 2020.
• Effective January 1, 2020, changes were made to the timing and calculation of development charges in accordance with Bill 108, the More Homes, More Choice Act.
• For developments proceeding through site plan or zoning by-law amendment applications, DC rates for the town and region will be frozen on the day a complete application is received.
  • The rate freeze expires two years after the approval of the planning application.
  • Where applicable, interest will be applied to the DC rates from the time of the complete planning application to the date the DC is paid. Interest for town DCs will be at the prime lending rate of the town’s financial institution.
  • Rates are dependent on the type of development. When interpreting the rate schedule, please refer to the Residential and Non Residential sections for helpful information.

Development Charge Rate Schedules

For the town and region, development charges are based on your site plan or zoning application, as found on your letter of complete application (if a development has both planning applications, the site plan application is used).  

If your development is not proceeding through these planning applications, or if your application pre-dates January 1, 2020, please refer to the current rate schedule.

Education rates are based on the current Education rate schedule (pdf).

Development charge rate schedules prior to January 1, 2020 can be found on the Development Charge Historical Rates page.

Development charges are based on the number and type of dwelling units. Types of dwelling units are defined in Development Charges By-law 2022-068.

Halton Region development charges are based type of dwelling unit and on the location of your development. There are separate rates for developments in the built boundary urban and rural areas and the greenfield urban, DC recovery and rural areas. Please use the map to determine where your development is located in order to interpret the rate schedule.

In addition to current regional residential development charges, a Front-Ending Recovery Payment (FERP) and DC Recovery charge may apply to your development. More information can be found on the Halton Region website.

Please use the Development Charges map to determine where your development is located in order to interpret the rate schedule by searching the address and determining whether the property is built boundary or greenfield.

• Development charges are based on the gross/total floor area of the building
• In the case of non-residential developments or redevelopments, a Non-Residential DC Information Form (pdf) should be completed at the time of the building permit application for the purposes of ascertaining the specific development charges that may apply based on the determinations of the town, Halton Region and the area school boards.
• Halton Region has provided a list of definitions of terms used on the non-residential DC information form (pdf)
• Non-residential development is categorized as retail or non-retail for regional development charges. Please visit the Halton Region site for more information
• Halton Region development charges are based on the location of your development. There are separate rates for developments in the built boundary urban and rural areas and the greenfield urban, DC recovery and rural areas.

Please use the Development Charges map to determine where your development is located in order to interpret the rate schedule by searching the address and determining whether the property is built boundary or greenfield.

The Corporation of the Town of Oakville collects development charges under the authority of the Development Charges Act, 1997 (DCA) and the Town Development Charges By-law. Development charges shall be collected in a financially sustainable manner in order to fund growth related capital costs and deliver complete communities.

To learn more about this, review our Development Charges Interest Policy.

Prime lending rate history

• January 1, 2020: 3.95 per cent
• March 5, 2020: 3.45 per cent
• March 17, 2020: 2.95 per cent
• March 30, 2020: 2.45 per cent
• March 3, 2022: 2.70 per cent
• April 14, 2022: 3.20 per cent
• June 2, 2022: 3.70 per cent
• July 14, 2022: 4.70 per cent
• September 8, 2022: 5.45 per cent
• October 27, 2022: 5.95 per cent

Education development charges are imposed by the Halton District School Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board under the authority of the Education Act. Education development charges are payable at the rate in effect at building permit issuance. The current education development charges are:

Rates as of July 4, 2022

Residential Rate per Dwelling Unit

• HDSB: $5,792
• HCDSB: $3,769
• Total: $9,561

Non-residential Rate per sq.m. (sq.ft.) of Gross Floor Area

• HDSB: $15.18 ($1.41)
• HCDSB: $10.12 ($0.94)
• Total: $25.30 ($2.35)

The Development Charges Act provides for certain mandated exemptions, such as;

• a board of education;
• any municipality or local board thereof;
• the enlargement of an existing dwelling unit;
• the creation of additional dwelling units in existing and new residential buildings, as prescribed, subject to the restrictions in Sec. 2 of Ontario Regulation 82/98, and the enlargement of an industrial building up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the gross floor area of the structure that existed before the original enlargement.

The town provides further exemptions in Development Charges By-law 2022-068, such as;

• an agricultural development
• a seasonal structure or temporary venue
• a part of a building or structure used as a public hospital
• certain post secondary institutions
• a provincial or federal crown agency
• types of buildings or structures owned and used for the purposes of a conservation authority
• an area of worship within a place or worship

Demolition credits will be provided against applicable development charges where buildings or structures have been demolished to permit the redevelopment of the property.  The credit is based on the number and type of residential units demolished and/or the total floor area and type of non-residential building or structures demolished, and is available for five years from the issuance date of the demolition permit.

Please refer to the Halton Region, Halton District School Board and Halton Catholic District School Board websites for information on exemptions and credits pertaining to their development charges.

The town typically collects development charges at the time when a building permit is issued.

Deferral instalments

Effective January 1, 2020, changes were made to the timing of development charge payments in accordance with Bill 108, the More Homes, More Choice Act. The following types of development, further defined in Ontario Regulation 454/19, are able to defer development charge payments:

• Rental housing (that is not non-profit)
  • Pay in six annual instalments beginning on the date the building is first occupied, and each of the following five anniversaries of that date
• Institutional (includes long term care homes, retirement homes, certain post-secondary institutions, Royal Canadian Legion facilities, hospice)
  • Pay in six annual instalments beginning on the date the building is first occupied, and each of the following five anniversaries of that date
• Non-profit housing
  • Pay in 21 annual instalments beginning on the date the building is first occupied, and each of the following 20 anniversaries of that date

Other details

Interest is charged from the time the development charge would normally have been payable (building permit issuance), until the final payment is received, at the prime lending rate of the town’s financial institution.

Owners may enter into an alternative payment agreement with the town and choose to forego the deferral of development charges, or pay the balance of development charges outstanding at any time during the life of the deferral.

Payments can be made by electronic funds transfer or wire transfer. Payments via cheque may be dropped off at ServiceOakville or mailed to the attention of Development Finance at:

Corporation of the Town of Oakville
1225 Trafalgar Road
Oakville, ON L6H 0H3

To help serve you better, please contact the Finance department before making a payment at 905-338-4196 or DCForms@oakville.ca.

Returned payments are subject to a return item fee of $45. A returned payment may prevent your permit from being issued, or result in your permit being revoked. Any additional charges as a result of a return payment are the responsibility of the applicant.

As required by the Development Charges Act, 1997, the Treasurer for the Town of Oakville shall prepare an annual financial statement reporting on the status and transactions relating to the development charge reserve funds for the previous year. This statement is presented to the Council of the Town of Oakville for their review and may be reviewed upon request. 

Review the Development Charge Annual Reports.