The City of Ottawa has started sending out letters to homeowners concerning the new "Vacant Unit Tax". If your home is vacant for a good part of the year, you have to pay the City of Ottawa 1% of the assessed value of your house.

If your house is worth $600,000 then you would owe the City $6000 if they find out your home was vacant for 1 year, or the better part of it.

Beginning in January 2023, property owners in Ottawa must complete a declaration notifying the city of their occupation status before March 16th 2023. (City of Ottawa has given 2.5 months notice). If your home was vacant in 2022 this new tax will be payable in 2023.

Backdating this type of vacant unit tax is not a good thing and we are against it. If you do not complete your declaration by March 16th, your property will be deemed vacant and you'll be charged this tax. This is like one of those "negative opt-in schemes". This is so heavy handed and unfair to homeowners.

If you choose to leave your own house to go meditate for a year, that is your choice, and your busines, nothing to do with the City of Ottawa! If the City thinks that with this new tax they will come up with a few extra vacant properties that's going to solve some kind of availability crisis for rentals in the City of Ottawa they're just dead wrong!

What is going to happen around April 2023 when this fiasco takes place and some people never got the letter, others simply discarded the letter, never read it, this could be thousands of people who never go online to register with this. Will there be a class action lawsuit from all of these people?

Let's face it, this is a Tax Grab, it's not going to solve anything by freeing up a few rental units. Mr. Sutcliffe, the new Mayor of Ottawa, if you're watching, please rethink and reverse this as it is not fair at all.

UPDATE TO VUT

Vacant Unit Tax (VUT) 2023 Declaration for the City of Ottawa.

You can begin filing your declaration after Thursday December 14th, 2023 and you have until until March 31st, 2024.

Late declaration results in $250 fine. No declaration results in an additional property tax of 1% of the assessed value of the property.

- IE a house assessed at $600,000 will be taxes $6,000 in addition to their regular tax bill. How to declare. City of Ottawa website...

Vacant Unit Tax Declaration Form

If considering selling your home in 2024, save the acknowledgement email from the city as proof that you have declared. Otherwise a buyer can deduct or withhold that tax amount from how much they will pay you.