The City of Cambridge collects development charges in accordance with the Development Charges Act and our Development Charges By-law 19-094, amended by By-law 22-003 and By-law 22-025. Development charges offset the capital costs required to support growth-related infrastructure.

The City’s Development Charge By-law 19-094 was effective July 1, 2019, based on the Development Charges Background Study and Addendum #1 and Addendum #2. It was subsequently amended effective January 19, 2022 based on the  Development Charges Update Study dated October 29, 2021. It was further amended effective April 20, 2022 based on the Development Charges Background Study Update dated February 1, 2022.

If you wish to be notified when information is released on future development charges updates, please contact cfo@cambridge.ca.

Who has to pay development charges?

Development charges apply to all lands in the city of Cambridge, except lands owned by and used for the purposes of the municipality, school board, hospital or farm related structures. Usually, you pay development charges for the City of Cambridge, the Region of Waterloo and our School Boards when you apply for a building permit.

View our Development Charges Brochure to learn more about development charges and exemptions. Please note rates get indexed on December 1 of every year.

Breakdown of charges

The City of Cambridge publishes a breakdown of current development charges every December. View our current summary of charges. 

Interest charges

Under sections 26.1 and 26.2 of the Development Charges Act, the City may charge interest on certain types of developments. The City’s Development Charge Interest Policy A09 FIN 003 establishes the rules and procedures for the City’s charging of interest on Development Charges.

Regional development charges

The Region of Waterloo issues regional development charges for development in the City of Cambridge. For information about Regional development charges, call 519-575-4421.

School board development charges

For information about school board development charges, contact the following Boards in the Region of Waterloo: