Closing Costs on an Etobicoke Condo in 2026: The Complete List

By Jatin Dua · Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty · Updated September 10, 2026 · 11 min read — every cost that lands between your accepted offer and your keys, what each one actually is, and which ones a pre-construction closing adds on top.

Why Etobicoke condominiums are taxed twice

Etobicoke has been part of the City of Toronto since amalgamation in 1998. That single fact costs a buyer here roughly the price of a car compared with an identical purchase in Mississauga, because Toronto levies its own Municipal Land Transfer Tax on top of the provincial one, and the brackets are close to identical.

Neither tax can be financed. Your lender advances against the property; the land transfer tax is paid by your lawyer at the moment of registration, out of the certified funds you delivered. This is the number that turns a comfortable pre-approval into a difficult closing, and it is the one buyers most often discover late.

The land transfer tax at real Etobicoke condominium prices

TRREB reported an average Etobicoke sale price of $1,049,793 across 243 sales in August 2026, across all property types; condominium apartments generally trade well below that average. Here is what the two taxes come to at prices that actually occur in Etobicoke condominium buildings.

First-time buyers get relief on both. The provincial refund is up to $4,000 and the Toronto rebate is up to $4,475, so a qualifying first-time buyer can reduce the bill by as much as $8,475 in total. Eligibility conditions apply to both, and the Toronto rebate has its own application window. Confirm the current rules and your own eligibility with your lawyer — do not assume, and do not budget the refund as though it were a discount at closing, because in some cases it is claimed afterwards.

The full list, resale condominium

Paid at or before closing

The two that are always forgotten

The reserve fund contribution. Most condominium corporations require a new owner to contribute an amount equal to two months of common expenses to the reserve fund on a change of ownership. On a unit with $650 monthly fees that is $1,300, payable at closing, and it does not come back to you.

Adjustments. If the seller has prepaid property tax or common expenses beyond the closing date, you reimburse them for the unused portion. On a closing early in a tax instalment period this is small; on a closing right after the seller paid an instalment it can be well over a thousand dollars. Your lawyer produces the statement of adjustments a few days before closing, which is later than most people would like.

Worked example: a $700,000 Etobicoke condominium

That is 3.75% of the purchase price, in cash, on top of whatever you are putting down. A first-time buyer claiming both rebates in full would reduce it to roughly $17,765, or 2.5%.

Pre-construction closings are a different animal

If you are closing on a new condominium rather than a resale, the list above still applies and several more items are added, most of them charged by the builder under the agreement of purchase and sale. These are the ones that generate the angriest phone calls.

• Development and education levies. Passed through by the builder. If your agreement caps them, the cap is the number that matters; if it does not, the exposure is open-ended and can run into five figures.
• Occupancy fees during interim occupancy. You occupy the unit before the corporation is registered and pay a monthly amount made up of an interest component, an estimated property tax component and a common expense component. None of it pays down a mortgage. It is not rent and it is not equity.
• Utility connection and meter installation charges.
• Tarion enrolment fee. The new home warranty enrolment, passed through to you.
• HST and the new housing rebate. On a new build the price you were quoted usually assumes you will occupy the unit and that the builder claims the rebate on your behalf. If you are buying to rent it out, the arithmetic is completely different and the amount involved is large. Get this answered in writing before you firm up.
• Assignment fees, if you are buying from an original purchaser rather than the builder.

Budget noticeably more than 4% on a pre-construction closing, and read the closing-costs section of the agreement during your ten-day cooling-off period rather than in the final month.

Costs that come immediately after closing

These are not closing costs but they arrive in the same fortnight and belong in the same budget: moving costs, the elevator booking deposit most Etobicoke buildings require, condominium insurance for your own unit and contents, utility account set-up, and the first month of common expenses. Together they routinely add $1,500 to $3,000 to what people thought moving would cost.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Ontario Ministry of Finance — Land Transfer Tax — the provincial brackets used in the tables and the first-time purchaser refund of up to $4,000. Accessed 10 September 2026.
• City of Toronto — Municipal Land Transfer Tax — the Toronto brackets and the rebate of up to $4,475. Accessed 10 September 2026.
• TRREB Market Watch, August 2026 — the Etobicoke average sale price of $1,049,793 across 243 sales. Accessed 10 September 2026.
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Mortgages — minimum down payment rules and mortgage default insurance. Accessed 10 September 2026.

Related reading

• Etobicoke vs Mississauga closing costs compared
• Deposit vs down payment in Ontario: not the same thing
• Mortgage pre-approval in Ontario: what it actually guarantees
• Interim occupancy explained
• What to look for in a condominium status certificate