• 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville
  • 905-845-6601
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Development Charges

Development charges (DCs) are fees the town collects from property developers and used in future to build roads, transit, recreation centres, parks, fire stations and other infrastructure. DCs are collected when the town issues building permits to developers. In addition, the town collects development charges on behalf of Halton Region and the area school boards.

Understanding Development Charges

The 2022 Development Charges Background Study (pdf) has been released, the study and next steps in the process can be found here.

Development Charges By-law

For more information on the 2022 Development Charges Background Study, please visit our the Development Charges By-law page.

Determining if Development Charges are payable

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 2018-001 and Amending By-law 2021-016 for more information.

Development charge rates

The Town of Oakville’s 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.

Development charge rate schedules prior to January 1, 2020 can be found on the historical development charges page.

Select a date to review charges

For current rates, please enter today's date.

Please note: The download charges request will not download content unless you enable pop-ups on your browser. Please ensure pop-ups are not being blocked for this application.

Education Rates

Education Rates

Residential development

  • Development charges are based on the number and type of dwelling units
  • Types of dwelling units are defined in Development Charges By-law 2018-001
  • 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.

Non-residential development

  • 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 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.
  • 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.

Development charges interest

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

Education development charges

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, 2021

Residential Rate per Dwelling Unit

HDSB: $5,492
HCDSB: $3,469
Total: $8,961

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

HDSB: $14.10 ($1.31)
HCDSB: $9.04 ($0.84)
Total: $23.14 ($2.15)

Exemptions and credits

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% of the gross floor area of the structure that existed before the original enlargement.

The town provides further exemptions in Development Charges By-law 2018-001, 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.

Cash-in-lieu of parkland

Parkland dedication fees are separate from development charges, and are subject to By-law 2008-105. Please contact 905-845-6601, ext. 3022 for more information on parkland.

Bill 108 and Bill 197

Bill 108, the More Homes, More Choice Act, and Bill 197, the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, proposed a number of changes impacting the Development Charges Act, 1997 and the Planning Act. As of September 18, 2020, the amendments to these Acts have been proclaimed and are in force, and include the following:

Currently in force

  • DC rates are frozen for developments proceeding through site plan or zoning by-law amendment planning applications beginning January 1st, 2020. Rates are frozen from the complete application date to two years following the approval date.
  • Certain types of development can defer DC payments (rental housing, institutional, non profit housing)
  • Interest will be charged on both the rate freeze and deferred payments
  • Additional exemptions related to the creation of additional dwelling units

Transition period

Municipalities have two years from September 18, 2020, to transition to the new regime by:

  • Amending Development Charges By-law 2018-001 for the updated services covered under the DC Act, and per cent that they are recovered
  • Passing a new parkland dedication by-law
  • Establish a Community Benefits Charge in order to utilize section 37 of the Planning Act

Timing of payment

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

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.

How do I pay?

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.

Statement of the Treasurer

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.

Town resources

  • Development Charges By-law
  • Historic development charges rate schedule
  • Development charges key information pamphlet
  • Development charge annual reports
  • Growth Infrastructure Financing Tools
  • Development Charges Amending By-law, 2021 (pdf)
  • Development Charges By-law 2018-001 (pdf)
  • Non-residential development charge information form (pdf)

Other entities

  • Halton Region
  • Halton District School Board
  • Halton Catholic District School Board

Governance

  • Development Charges Act, 1997
  • Bill 108 More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019
  • Bill 197 COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, 2020

Growth Infrastructure Financing Tools

As the town grows through population and jobs, additional land and infrastructure is needed to continue delivering quality services. The town utilizes three major financial tools to recover these costs from development: Development Charges (DC), Community Benefits Charges (CBC) and Parkland Dedication. 

Learn more on our Growth Infrastructure Financing Tools page.

More questions?

For clarification or further questions please contact the Finance department at DCForms@oakville.ca.

For information on regional and education development charges, please contact Halton Region (DevelopmentCharges@halton.ca or 905-825-6000, ext. 7290) or the Halton District School Board (edc@hdsb.ca or 905-335-3665, ext. 3240)

How to find us

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  • 1225 Trafalgar Road, Oakville, Ontario
  • 905-845-6601

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