Toronto's Vacant Home Tax

As of January 1st, 2023, Toronto has now implemented a “vacant home tax”, directed at properties that are not occupied for at least 6 months of the year.

What you need to know:

Residential properties in Toronto that are unoccupied for more than six months (cumulative) in a calendar year, may be subject to the new City of Toronto's Vacant Home Tax (VHT), unless they meet one of the exemptions. The VHT was created to improve the supply of housing in the city.

1. A declaration form will need to be completed by property owners by February 2, 2023.

2. A property is considered vacant if it is not the principal residence of the owner or any permitted occupants or was not occupied by tenants for at least six months during the previous calendar year or is otherwise deemed to be vacant under the bylaw.

3. The tax is 1 per cent of the current value assessment (CVA) of the home.

4. Exemptions include principal residence, death, repairs, units undergoing major renovation, owner is in care or hospital, court order, transfer of legal ownership and occupancy for full-time employment is in place.

When Buying or Selling:

The Vacant Home Tax has implications for property transactions, both for purchasers (buyers) and vendors (sellers):

• It is the responsibility of buyers and sellers to make the appropriate arrangements to ensure that the declaration has been filed.

• The Vacant Home Tax will form a lien on the property, and any unpaid taxes will become the buyer’s responsibility.

• If a closing occurs between January 1 and the closing of the declaration period on February 2, the seller must complete the declaration prior to the closing, as only the seller will know the property’s occupancy status for the prior year.

• If a closing occurs after the declaration period – February 3 to December 31 – the buyer must submit a declaration in the following year. The buyer qualifies for the “transfer of legal ownership” exemption.

• The seller should provide a copy of the completed and filed property status declaration to the buyer.

• The seller should provide a statutory declaration at closing confirming the filed property status declaration is true and correct.

The goal of the VHT is to increase the supply of housing by discouraging owners from leaving their residential properties unoccupied. Homeowners who choose to keep their properties vacant will be subject to this tax.

Toronto & GTA: Market Perspective

It is almost like you need to do a double-take and check the calendar to see if it is indeed 2021, and not 2017. Toronto and most of the GTA has been experiencing all the hallmarks of a continually strong ‘Sellers’ market, with many of the same hallmarks of the 2017 peak.

Mostly attributed to the detached market, we are back to seeing multiple-offer situations on nearly every property on the lower side of the price range. If you are looking for a detach or semi-detached home and have less than $1.7MM to spend, you should prepare yourself for some solid competition.

Condos are a bit of a different scenario - in December we had sales of 2,193 units, and there are currently available for sale 2,934 units on MLS, which equals about 1.33 months' supply. While it has been difficult to move some of the smaller bachelor and studio condos, with a bit of time the larger units are still moving well. Compare that to a total availability of just 1,045 freehold (detach, semi, town) available in all of Toronto.

For comparison purposes, a typical ‘balanced market’ usually has about 4-6 months of ‘supply’ available, versus the sales volume. Interesting to consider - with a total of just under 4,000 total properties for sale, and over 58,000+ registered Agents in the Toronto Board… you can see how there can be immense pressure on what is available.

Unfortunately, that competition for properties - and between Agents - often comes along with a lack of proper advice, borderline unethical behaviour, and some Agents putting their own needs ahead of their Clients. We are seeing all sorts of crazy ‘offers’, especially for new Buyers, going into situations they are simply not prepared for — no protection for arranging financing, or home inspections in many cases. The lesson here is that despite the bit of bedlam the current market is bringing us, it does not reduce the liability of an Agent, nor mean that you should ignore all the risks just to try to win a deal.

There are many other ways to protect yourself as both a Buyer or a Seller, do things the right way, and still come out ahead.

If you are thinking of buying or selling, before you make a move - call us! We are always available to talk about strategy, the marketplace, and of course here to offer the best possible advice and guidance we can, no strings attached.