An individual and two unrelated individuals acquired a duplex in equal shares on December 10, 2023 and began living in one of the units as his principal place of residence on December 20, 2023, with the other unit being rented out. On November 2, 2023 (after their having entered into the purchase agreement) he withdrew funds from his FHSA.
In finding that the various references in the “qualifying withdrawal” definition to acquiring a qualifying home include acquiring a co-ownership interest in the home, notwithstanding the absence of a specific deeming rule like s. 146.01(2)(a) providing that the acquisition of a qualifying home includes the acquisition by a taxpayer "jointly with one or more other persons," CRA stated that “it is not clear … that the mere reference to the acquisition of a qualifying home in the context of the definition of ‘qualifying withdrawal’ can exclude the possibility of an acquisition made by the individual jointly with one or more persons” and that “[i]t seems clear that the legislator did not wish to exclude individuals who wish to purchase a qualifying home jointly with one or more persons, even if only for spousal couples.”
Accordingly, an acquisition of an ownership interest in a qualifying home in co-ownership with related or unrelated individuals could so qualify if the other conditions of the definition of "qualifying withdrawal" were satisfied.