City of Ottawa says 97% of homeowners have filed Vacant Unit Tax declarations ahead of deadline

A tablet showing the vacant unit tax declaration page on the city of Ottawa's website. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

The City of Ottawa says nearly 10,000 homeowners have yet to file their vacant unit tax (VUT) declarations for this year, with the Thursday deadline approaching.

All residential property owners are required to register the occupancy status of their properties during the previous year. If no declaration is made, the property will be deemed vacant and will be subject to the vacant unit tax.

The VUT is equivalent to one per cent of a property’s assessed value if the property was vacant for more than 184 days in the previous calendar year. For example, a residential unit with an assessed value of $415,000 that was declared vacant would result in an extra $4,150 tax on the owner’s final property tax bill.

Vacant properties might be able to claim one of several exemptions to avoid having to pay the tax, but the owner must still declare the property’s status.

Deputy City Treasurer Joseph Muhuni said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa that 97 per cent of expected declarations had been received as of Monday.

“The City of Ottawa has received 320,712 Vacant Unit Tax (VUT) declarations as of March 17, representing 97 per cent of the homes that need to declare. There are 330,617 homes that need to declare this year. Residents are reminded to complete their declarations by the March 20 deadline,” he said.

Declarations will still be accepted after March 20, but will come with a $250 late fee. If an application is not filed by April 30, the home will be deemed vacant.

“To better support and serve residents, the City has improved and expanded declaration options as well as its communications and public information efforts on the program. In addition to the mailed notices reminding residents to declare via email and mail, Public Services Announcements, tweets and reminders continue to be issued until the deadline,” Muhuni said.

• Through My ServiceOttawa;
• Online at www.ottawa.ca/vut;
• By phone at 613-580-2444, option 3;
• By Canada Video Relay Service at 613-580-2400; or
• At City of Ottawa Client Service Centres

Money raised via the VUT is put toward housing projects in the city. The first full year of taxation on vacant properties raised $12.6 million in revenue, with $10.3 million being allocated to the city’s housing long-range financial plan. It cost $2.28 million to administer the VUT program in its first year.

This year’s declaration comes with some additional exemptions for select properties, as well as a stronger penalty for properties that are vacant multiple years in a row.

Farms with residences, with or without secondary structures with farm outbuilding, are not required to submit a declaration. New exemptions include rural ineligible properties (ex. rural residential century homes, recreational hunt camps, or structures significantly damaged and not capable of being used for housing), hazardous properties outside of the owner’s control, secondary residences occupied for medical care reasons, and a one-time retrofit renovation per property and owner, where the unit is occupied within one year. These are in addition to previous exemptions such as principal residence, tenanted properties, properties occupied by a family member, friend, or other resident using it as their principal residence, sale of the property, court orders, vacancy due to the owner entering long-term care, death of the owner, or construction or renovation that kept the property vacant.

Also new for 2025 is a graduated tax rate increase of one per cent per year for repeat vacancies, up to a maximum of five per cent of the property’s assessed value.