Jan 9, 2022 update:
This is an additional update on the residential Vacant Unit Tax (VUT). As of this morning (Jan 9) at 8 a.m., we have received approximately 82,000 completed declarations, representing 25% of residential properties that have declared.
Today we launched the second direct mailing campaign to all residential property owners who are required to complete the declaration. The campaign consists of 225,000 hard copy mailouts via Canada Post to residential property owners who are not signed up for paperless billing and 98,000 electronic notices via email to those who are.
The second notice will be issued to affected residential property owners over the next week, and includes property owners’ roll number, access code and more information on how to declare.
In order to meet the January 9, 2023, mailout date, these letters were generated prior to the end of the year, so those who have already declared will be included in the mailout.
Property owners who have already completed the declaration can disregard the second notice. Residents registered with MyServiceOttawa can go directly to the declaration from their property tax account. Included with the second notice are two additional inserts – VUT Guide -providing a step-bystep overview of the process, and VUT Facts - with some background information on VUT. Paperless billing clients will receive an e-mail with links to the PDF versions of the inserts.
Distribution of the notices is expected to be completed by January 17th: A public service announcement has been released today to coincide with the mail campaign and a feature story will follow later this week.
Here are some videos on completing the declaration:
All technical issues identified when the portal first went live on January 4th have since been resolved. No new issues have been identified since the last update. Although still busy, our call centre's wait times have been considerably reduced since the last update.
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The Vacant Unit Tax (VUT) declaration period and corresponding on-line portal are now open. Residential property owners can now complete their 2022 occupancy declaration. Revenue Services has been working with Information Technology Services to ensure that the City’s IT platforms will be able to handle the expected increased traffic, and we are aware that the unplanned internet outage at City facilities has been given priority at present.
The deadline to declare a property’s occupancy status for 2022 is March 16, 2023. Late declarations will be accepted until April 30th. In 2023, the late fee will be waived to provide additional time for residents to complete their declaration. The mandatory declaration is primarily completed online directly in the on-line portal, through the Vacant Unit Tax home page on Ottawa.ca, or MyService Ottawa. It should take no longer than five minutes to complete.
Several options are also available to help residential property owners requiring assistance in completing the declaration, including seniors and persons with disabilities:
Call Revenue Services at 613-580-2444 and selecting option 3 to complete a declaration over the phone, or to book an in-person appointment at the Mary Pitt Centre at 100 Constellation Drive.
Call 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service – which uses internet and mobile phone technologies to connect the caller with real-time sign language interpretation.
Further information is available at www.ottawa.ca/vut.