Council today tabled the City of Ottawa’s Draft Budget 2025. It invests in the more than 100 services that keep Ottawa running, while balancing tough financial realities.
The City wants to hear from residents on the Draft Budget 2025:
- Submit ideas to your Ward Councillor.
- Register as a public delegate to present at a budget review meeting of any standing committee, board, or commission – Visit ottawa.ca/budget for meeting dates.
- Connect with us on Facebook(link is external) and X(link is external) using #OttBudget.
- Call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401); rural residents can call 613-580-2400.
Council approved an updated Housing Services Long Range Financial Plan(link is external) for 2025 through 2030. The updated plan will help the City stay on track with the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan objective of delivering 500 new affordable units annually. The City will increase its annual contribution from taxation for affordable housing by $1 million per year for the next six years, growing the affordable housing annual base budget capital contribution from $9 million to $15 million by 2030. With this committed, predictable funding, the City will increase annual funding from $18.9 million in 2025 to $22.4 million in 2030. Changes to the Vacant Unit Tax program could add an average of $3 million annually to 2030. These funds will be supplemented with additional revenues of about $24.3 million over the next six years.
Council approved changes to the Vacant Unit Tax(link is external). The City received occupancy declarations for 99.6 per cent of Ottawa’s residential properties in 2023, and the program generated $10.3 million for City housing initiatives. Enhancements for 2025 include:
- Updating property eligibility to add another 1,000 residential properties and to exclude farms with residential units.
- Adding exemptions for ineligible rural properties, units reserved for those helping persons under medical care properties and hazardous or damaged properties outside of an owner’s control.
- Enhancing the existing renovation exemption to add a one-time retrofit exemption per property and owner, where the unit is occupied within one year.
- Implementing a graduated VUT rate that would increase the tax rate by one per cent per year for repeat vacancies, up to a maximum of five per cent of the residential assessed value – this could generate up to $4 million in additional revenue for housing initiatives.
- Allowing property owners an additional 15 months to submit late appeals beyond the current deadline, with an administrative fee.
Council also approved the Lincoln Fields Secondary Plan(link is external). This long-range policy document will guide growth and development on the lands surrounding Lincoln Fields Station over the next 25 years. The area will evolve as a transit-oriented community, anchored by an O-Train transfer station, future rapid transit on Carling Avenue, active transportation routes in the Pinecrest Creek valley, and a new main street and park space on the site of the former Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre.
