The Vacant Unit Tax (VUT) declaration portal opened yesterday for residents who want to declare early prior to the formal declaration period. The formal declaration period will open on January 2, 2025. Email notices, using previous year declaration contact information and paper notices are scheduled to be distributed to property owners in the new year and will be accompanied by a robust communication campaign throughout the declaration period. The declaration deadline is March 20, 2025, while late declarations being accepted until April 30, 2025, with a $250 late fee.
There are several ways for residents to submit their declaration:
- 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
- Client Service Centres
At the special joint meeting of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee and the Planning and Housing Committee on November 6, 2024, enhancements commencing in the 2025 VUT cycle were approved for the program, including:
- The exclusion of certain rural farm properties from the program
- Four new exemptions:
- Rural ineligible property
- Hazardous property outside of the owner’s control
- Medical care property
- A one-time retrofit renovation per property and owner, where the unit is occupied within
one year.
- The implementation of a graduated tax rate increase of one per cent per year for repeat
vacancies, up to a maximum of five per cent of the residential assessed value. The base
rate will remain at one per cent for first-year vacancies. - A 15-month late appeal window beyond the current 3-month appeal deadline allowing for
late appeals at an administrative fee of $500 per assessed property
