'They cause blight in the neighbourhood': Council approves vacant house tax
The City of Windsor is putting owners of vacant homes on notice.
City of Windsor chief building official John Revell said the new vacant home tax will be another useful tool for the city.
“Largely aimed at speculators who are sitting on properties and holding them in hopes the values go up and they can resell them to make a quick profit and don’t have to bother too much renovating the house or dealing with tenants,” Revell said.
“Often times these vacant homes are left to rot. They cause blight in the neighbourhood, they cause rodent infestation because they are not taken care of, they are not activated,” says Ward 2 councillor Fabio Costante.
Council voted during 2022 budget deliberations to have administration move forward with a vacant house tax proposed by Costante.
“This is one lever at our disposal to start encouraging more housing in our community,” he says.
The city has identified 165 residential properties that are currently designated as vacant. These properties include 30 owned by the company which controls the Ambassador Bridge.
Costante says it’s one way to address the affordable housing crisis by encouraging owners to sell or lower rents to find tenants.
“The CTC, the out-of-town landlord, the property owner that is not caring for their home, they are on notice now and we have this lever at our disposal and council unanimously endorsed it and I am looking forward to its roll out,” says Costante.
Properties that sit empty for more than 90 days will be hit.
“We have a shortage of housing, and rents are increasing and house prices are increasing so it’s market driven. So we would like to see properties back and available for people to live in. We’d like to see homes that need to be repaired, repaired and in a good state,” says Revell.
The tax could range between 1-2 per cent of the assessed value of the home.
“In real dollars we are looking at somewhere in the range of $2,000-$3,000 per property could be the added penalty in addition to paying property taxes already,” says Costante. “In addition, other penalties we could impose if they fail to register or if they try to abdicate the responsibilities through this new directive.”
The Downtown Mission feels this is good news.
“There are so many people out there that can’t find an affordable apartment or home or anything like that so to have extra opportunity would be wonderful,” says interim executive director Rukshini Ponniah-Goulin.
“It’s a critical piece of the overall puzzle enforcing property standards and creating more opportunity for safe and accessible housing,” says Costante.
A consultation period will be held in the coming months to address issues such as longer term absences and ongoing renovations before a bylaw takes effect.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump election victory 'very unlikely,' but 'possible': former FBI director Comey
Former FBI director James Comey says while he believes former U.S. president Donald Trump "will be defeated" in the upcoming presidential election, he doesn’t think it’s a given.
Robert Pickton stabbed with toothbrush and broken broom handle: victim's family
The family of one of Robert Pickton's victims says the convicted serial killer suffered an incredibly violent death at the hands of another inmate.
Father who killed one-year-old son with axe may be allowed to travel in southwestern Ontario
A Mennonite father who killed his one-year-old son with an axe may be allowed to travel to parts of southern Ontario in the coming months
Panama prepares to evacuate first island in face of rising sea level
On a tiny island off Panama's Caribbean coast, about 300 families are packing their belongings in preparation for a dramatic change. Generations of Gunas who have grown up on Gardi Sugdub in a life dedicated to the sea and tourism will trade that next week for the mainland’s solid ground.
'It feels like freedom': Why some Albertans like going nude in nature
Few people can say they accidentally purchased a nude beach — but Shelley can. When she saw a piece of land she could fondly remember camping on was up for sale, she inquired about it and ended up purchasing it. She soon found that there were already inhabitants on it.
This Calgary home has a giant tree in the middle, and it's for sale
There's a luxury 'tree home' for sale in Calgary.
Beef on and off the ice: Who has the best steak between Alberta and Texas?
As the Edmonton Oilers battle the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Playoffs' Western Conference Finals, there's some beef brewing off the ice as well.
Real Madrid wins Champions League after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in final
Real Madrid wins the Champions League after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final.
107-year-old luxury rail car ready for visitors after major restoration
Car 14 is a luxury passenger car that once made regular runs from London to Port Stanley starting in 1917.