Over 1,500 Ottawa properties audited under Vacant Unit Tax
![City of Ottawa Ottawa City Hall (File photo)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2021/11/25/city-of-ottawa-1-5681169-1637859210032.png)
The City of Ottawa says it has audited 1,525 properties through the Vacant Unit Tax by-law, with more residences being subject to a review in the coming months.
A statement to CTV News Ottawa by the city's deputy treasurer Joseph Muhuni, confirmed the number on Thursday but would not provide more details on the process.
The Vacant Unit Tax was implemented by council in 2022 to encourage homeowners to occupy or rent their properties to address the affordable housing crisis in the city. All revenue collected from the tax will go into the city's funds for more affordable housing.
All property owners in the city were required to register the status of their property during the previous year.
In a memo released in October, the city says there were 3,743 vacant homes in the city in 2022.
- Sign up now for our nightly CTV News Ottawa newsletter
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
A letter shared by a resident who was audited shows the city is asking them to provide at least two documents to prove the occupancy status of their home in 2022.
Audited residents are being given 30 days upon receipt of the letter to provide the documents to the city.
Residents must provide two of the following if they are audited in the process:
• An Ontario vehicle registration or vehicle insurance documentation of any occupant of the residence
• Government-issued personal identification of any occupant
• A minimum of seven months of utility bills in the name of the occupant (hydro, gas, internet, etc.)
• Any government correspondence showing the occupant's name and address
Those who do not comply with the audit request will be charged the Vacant Unit Tax. A letter of determination will be issued and additional fines or penalties could be considered, the letter said.
Properties that are vacant for more than 184 days of the previous calendar year are taxed at a rate of one per cent of the property's assessed value.
The city says all property status declarations are subject to an audit process, in line with other provincial and federal tax programs.
All declarations may be subject to audit for up to two years after the date of declaration.
Audited residents are being asked to upload their evidence to their My ServiceOttawa accounts or through a secured link, registered mail or in-person at the city Revenue Services location on Constellation Drive.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
DEVELOPING Alberta's request for federal assistance approved after fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Loblaw, George Weston to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500-million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
U.K. police officer suspended after video appears to show a man being kicked in head
A British police officer was suspended from all duties Thursday after a video was posted on social media that appeared to show an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man lying on the floor of a terminal at Manchester Airport.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
Biden explains why he ended re-election bid in Oval Office address
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Jasper mayor says alert system to be reviewed after message 'glitch'
More than 25,000 people have been displaced from Jasper National Park since wildfires started to threaten the picturesque corner of Alberta Rockies on Monday, but the mayor of its namesake municipality says not everyone received an evacuation alert when it was sent out.