The short answer is that a partner’s home only matters at one moment: the day you open your FHSA. If on that day you have a spouse or common-law partner, and you lived in a home they owned as your principal residence at any time this year or in the previous 4 calendar years, you can’t open an FHSA. After the account is open, the partner part of the test no longer applies: a qualifying withdrawal looks only at homes you owned. This page walks through the rule and the common scenarios. For the full first-time buyer test, see qualifying home and first-time buyer rules; for everything else, the FHSA guide and the FHSA guides directory.
The rule, at opening and at withdrawal
| Opening the account | Qualifying withdrawal | |
|---|---|---|
| Your own homes | Counted | Counted |
| Your spouse’s or partner’s homes | Counted, if you have a spouse or partner when you open | Not counted |
| What disqualifies | Having lived in the home as your principal residence this year or in the previous 4 calendar years | Having lived in a home you owned in that period (ignoring the 30 days just before the withdrawal) |
The key word is lived. A partner’s ownership only counts if the home was your principal residence at some point in the look-back window.
Who counts as a spouse or common-law partner
The test applies to your spouse or common-law partner at the time you open the account:
| Relationship | Part of the test? |
|---|---|
| Married | Yes |
| Living together in a conjugal relationship for 12 continuous months | Yes, as a common-law partner |
| Living together with a child together | Generally yes, even before 12 months |
| Dating, or living together for under 12 months with no child | No |
| A former spouse (divorced) or former common-law partner | No |
CRA’s full definition of common-law partner has more detail than this table; if your situation is borderline, check it before opening.
Scenarios
You can open an FHSA
| Scenario | Why |
|---|---|
| Your partner owns a rental property you have never lived in | You never lived in it |
| Your partner owns a cottage you visit occasionally | It isn’t your principal residence |
| Your partner lived in their own home, but you have never lived there | Only homes you lived in count |
| You lived in your partner’s home, but moved out before the look-back window | Outside the window |
| You live in your partner’s home but aren’t yet spouses or common-law | No spouse or partner when you open |
You can’t open an FHSA
| Scenario | Why |
|---|---|
| You live in a home your spouse or common-law partner owns | Current principal residence owned by your spouse or partner |
| You lived in your spouse’s home at any time this year or in the previous 4 calendar years | Inside the look-back window |
| You and your partner own the home you live in jointly | You own it yourself, so your own test fails |
How the look-back counts
The look-back uses calendar years, not 12-month periods. For an account opened in 2026, it covers 2026 and the 4 calendar years before it: 2022 through 2025.
| Last lived in a partner-owned home in | Can open in 2026, if you have that partner then? |
|---|---|
| 2021 or earlier | Yes, it is before the window |
| 2022 to 2026 | No |
Timing: open before the situation changes
Because the partner test is only applied at opening, the order of events matters:
- Opening while single, then moving into a partner’s home: the account stays valid, and a later qualifying withdrawal depends only on homes you own.
- Moving in and becoming common-law first: if the home is your partner’s, you can’t open an FHSA until you have been out of a partner-owned home for the full look-back window.
For someone who expects to move in with a homeowner, that makes the date of opening worth thinking about; when to open an FHSA covers the other timing factors.
If only one of you qualifies
The partner who meets the test can open an FHSA and use it toward a home you buy together; the funds can be pooled at purchase. The other partner may still be able to use the Home Buyers’ Plan with their RRSP savings, but note that the HBP’s own first-time buyer test does include homes owned by your spouse or partner at the time of the withdrawal. The two-account and one-account cases are covered on the FHSA for couples.
If you can’t open one now
You can’t open an FHSA while you fail the test, but the situation can change: once the look-back window has passed without living in a home you or your partner owned, you can open one. Meanwhile, the TFSA and RRSP are unaffected by the FHSA rules; FHSA vs TFSA vs RRSP compares them.
Related guides
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on August 29, 2026. How we check facts.
- Canada Revenue Agency: RRSP: How to participate in the Home Buyers' Plan
- Canada Revenue Agency: FHSA: Withdrawals and transfers out of your FHSAs
- Canada Revenue Agency: Marital status