House hacking is one of the most powerful wealth-building strategies available to Canadians. By purchasing a multi-unit property and living in one unit while renting out the others, you can dramatically reduce or eliminate your housing costs — while building equity and accumulating a real estate portfolio.
House hacking means your tenants pay your mortgage. You buy a duplex, triplex, or fourplex, live in one unit, and collect rent from the other units. In strong rental markets, your tenants' rent may cover the entire mortgage, leaving you living essentially for free.
Beyond the immediate benefit, house hacking is a legal pathway to accessing low-down-payment CMHC-insured financing — a significant advantage over pure investment property financing that requires 20% down.
These rules apply because you'll be living in the property. If you plan to rent all units and not live there, 20% down is required with no CMHC insurance available.
Example: Buy a triplex in Hamilton, ON for $750,000 with 10% down ($75,000). Mortgage on $675,000 at 5.5% over 25 years = approximately $4,150/month.
Two rental units at $1,600/month each = $3,200/month in rental income. Your net housing cost: $950/month — compared to renting a similar apartment for $1,800–$2,200. You save $850–$1,250/month and build equity simultaneously.
Look for:
Living in the building while being a landlord is different from remote landlording. You'll share walls, hallways, or outdoor space with your tenants. This can be great (easy maintenance response, lower vacancy risk) or challenging (loss of privacy, neighbourly conflicts).
Understand your province's landlord-tenant legislation before buying. In Ontario under the Residential Tenancies Act, tenants have strong protections including rent increase guidelines, restrictions on eviction, and required maintenance standards. Living in the building doesn't exempt you from these obligations.
When you house hack, your property becomes partly personal use and partly income-producing. The rental portion of expenses (property taxes, insurance, mortgage interest, maintenance) can be deducted proportionally. If you rent 2 of 3 units (67% rental), you can deduct 67% of eligible expenses.
Many house hackers live in the property for 1–2 years to satisfy owner-occupied requirements, then convert to a full investment property and move on to the next house hack. After 2+ years of living there, you've built equity, reduced the mortgage, and can refinance or sell to fund the next purchase.
Others keep the property long-term as a foundational income-producing asset while moving to their next primary residence.
Every dollar saved on bank fees improves your returns. KOHO offers free banking with no monthly fees. Use code 45ET55JSYA for a bonus when you open your account.
Open KOHO Free — Code 45ET55JSYA