Saskatchewan Secondary Suite Incentive Grant Program

Saskatchewan is growing at its fastest pace in more than a century and requires additional housing stock across a wide range of communities and price ranges. Over the past three years, availability of rental units in the private market has decreased. The province’s population has increased to record gains, and opportunities for home ownership have tightened with rising interest rates.

You can contribute to providing more rental housing in your community, while investing in your property. A secondary suite can help pay a mortgage, or provide homes for aging parents, adult children or other family members. The grant has been designed with flexibility in mind. The SSI helps to address rental availability and affordability, while also being targeted to homeowners who would like to secure a new revenue stream to help support their own primary housing affordability over the medium and long-term.

• A qualifying property is a new private, self-contained residential unit within a single-family detached home and includes laneway homes, garden suites, and garage suites. Only one secondary suite unit may be funded per applicant/per property.
• The qualifying property must include a full kitchen and full bathroom and must meet all national, provincial and municipal bylaws, codes and standards.
• Eligible costs must be directly related to construction, or renovation of existing space, which results in a net new rental unit. Examples include engineering and architectural services, materials and contract labour related to construction, interior finishing, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, and standard appliances.
• The owner must have received all permitting and legal approvals necessary for the unit to be used as a rental, however the program eligibility criteria will not require verification that the suite has been rented before the grant is awarded.
• The SSI will be administered by the Ministry of Finance and may be used alongside the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) Rebate for New Home Construction provided the qualifications are met.
• Costs of renovating an existing secondary suite or the primary residence are not eligible.

The SSI will be open to qualifying properties incurring eligible costs from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2026, to accommodate projects that have already been initiated.

The necessary regulations, application form and program guidelines are anticipated to be available in January 2024, along with an announcement that the program is now open to applications.