Development Incentives

Applicants must be registered owners of the property and shall not be in tax arrears for any property within the City.
Federal or territorial-owned lands, buildings or projects are ineligible for all programs.

Any incentive may be revoked or suspended for outstanding orders or requirements that have not been completed in terms of the schedule or for non-compliance. Failure to comply with the terms of the agreement will result in the forfeiture of all incentives and may require repayment to the City of Yellowknife.

The Five-Year Declining Abatement provides the applicant with the equivalent value of the tax that would be payable for the increase in the improvement value at 100% in year one. The amount of abatement is decreased by an equal reduction of 20% over the remaining four years:

Year 1: 100%, Year 2: 80%, Year 3: 60%, Year 4: 40%, Year 5: 20%.

The Full Five-Year Abatement provides the applicant with the equivalent value of the tax that would be payable for the increase of the improvement value at 100% over five years:

Year 1: 100%, Year 2: 100%, Year 3: 100%, Year 4: 100%, Year 5: 100%.

Abatements are only applied to the following types of developments:

• New residential, commercial or mixed-use developments within the Downtown Zone
• Adaptive re-use of existing buildings within the Downtown Zone
• New multi-unit residential and commercial developments, or adaptive reuse of existing buildings, with the Residential Central Zone
• New multi-unit developments within the Residential Central or Residential Intensification Zones; and
• Industrial relocation from sender lands to receiver lands

Note: The industrial relocation abatement may be applied to either the sender land or the receiver land, but not both.

Any abated payments will occur upon completion of all of the following:    

• a certified property assessment
• signed contribution agreement; and 
• authorization by the Planning Administrator and Director of Corporate Services

The City has grants for housing, land purchase, revitalization of existing development and permit fees.

Development Incentives do not include any loans.

Yes. You may be eligible to apply for multiple grants when a proposed development conforms to each of the regulations under each incentive. Please note that funding is limited.

Yes. Abatements and grants may be applied for together and combined to support a development, subject to available funding.

Payment of the following grants will be made following a successful application, completion of a contribution agreement and based on available funding. Payment may be made before the construction of the project:

• Universal Commercial Development Grant
• Secondary Dwelling Grant
• Affordable Secondary Dwelling Grant
• Affordable Non-profit Grant
• Universal Dwelling Units Grant; and/or
• Missing Middle Grant

Payment of the following grants will be made following a determination by the Planning Administrator that the project has been fully completed according to the terms and conditions of the contribution agreement:

• Environmental Impact Study (EIS) Grant
• Bicycle Racks and Storage Grants
• Vehicle Share Grant
• Intensification Servicing Grant
• Ventilation Systems Grant; and/or
• Development Permit and Building Permit Fee Grant

The Affordable Housing Rate is determined using the CMHC definition of affordable housing and Statistics Canada's income-revenue index. These rates will be updated annually to reflect the latest available data.

See the latest rates here.