About 4,000 property owners have yet to tell the city their home is considered empty

People still need to declare their home is empty or face fine: City of Vancouver

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – We are quickly approaching the deadline for people in Vancouver to submit their paperwork to declare their property as an empty home.

The city says fewer than 4,000 homeowners have yet to submit Empty Homes Tax declarations with the highest number of undeclared units being in the downtown core, specifically in Yaletown, Coal Harbour and the West End.

Earlier this month, city hall extended the deadline to Mar. 5 to give people more time to fill out the documentation or comply with the new tax.

“With a near-zero vacancy rate in Vancouver, our key goal is to shift empty or under-used housing into the rental market. The City has done extensive advertising and notifications about the Empty Homes Tax for more than a year — all homeowners should know that they have to file a declaration, or their homes will be considered empty by default,” says Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.

How to submit a declaration

Online

In person at city hall which is open between 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Over the phone by calling 3-1-1, between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily (outside Vancouver: 604-873-7000.)

He adds roughly 182,000 (98 per cent) of residential property owners in Vancouver have submitted their declarations. “Almost all homeowners have already filed their Empty Homes Tax declarations, but the last two per cent will face unnecessary penalties if they don’t declare,” adds Robertson.

If people don’t file their paperwork by the deadline, their home could be deemed vacant and subject to a $250 penalty.

“Properties which are deemed vacant will be subject to the tax of one per cent of the property’s 2017 assessed taxable value. Owners of these properties will receive a Vacancy Tax Notice and a Bylaw Notice for $250 in mid-March. Payment of the tax will be due by Apr. 16 or a five per cent late penalty will be applied,” explains Robertson.

The levy is one of the ways the city is trying to address the ongoing rental and housing crisis. The goal of the tax is to move under-used properties back into the rental pool while, the city says, net revenues will be reinvested in other affordable housing initiatives.