The City of Hamilton is reminding all homeowners to complete their Vacant Unit Tax declaration before the Wednesday, April 15 deadline.
Late declarations will be accepted from April 16 to May 15, 2026; however, a $250 late declaration fee applies during that period.
If a declaration is not submitted by the Friday, May 15, 2026, late declaration deadline, the property is automatically considered vacant, and the Vacant Unit Tax gets applied for the 2026 tax year.
The city says that the Vacant Unit Tax “aims to increase the supply of housing in Hamilton by encouraging homeowners to keep their properties occupied rather than vacant.”
However, all residential property owners are required to submit a declaration, regardless of their status.
Property owners who own multiple properties must also submit a declaration for each property.
A property is considered vacant if it was left empty for more than 183 days in the previous tax year.
Some exemptions apply, such as in the case of the death of an owner or major renovations.
A City of Hamilton report from March 30 says that 46,000 residential property owners have not declared their properties as of March 23.
That means that over 25 per cent of the city’s 180,000 estimated residential property owners in the city had still not submitted their declaration, leaving them potentially open to fees or even the Vacant Unit Tax charge.
The city sent out reminder letters and emails to those property owners beginning the week of March 23.
The Vacant Unit Tax is charged at one per cent of the total assessed property value.
For example, a home assessed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) at $381,000 would be subject to a $3,810 Vacant Unit Tax.
To complete a declaration, homeowners need the roll number and access code found on their Vacant Unit Tax Notice to Declare or Reminder to Declare letters.
Those numbers can also be found on a property owner’s most recent property tax bill.
Declarations can be submitted online, by phone, email, mail, and in-person at all Municipal Service Centres across the city, with full details available at hamilton.ca/VacantUnitTax.
Residents who need assistance completing their declaration can contact the city via email at vacantunittax@hamilton.ca or by calling 905-546-2573.
After launching the Vacant Unit Tax in 2025, Hamilton City Council voted on October 29, 2025, to extend the tax another year.
City staff recommended continuation of the program, which passed on an 8 to 7 vote.
Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath did not vote, declaring a conflict since she owns a vacant unit.
She also declared the same conflict during the initial vote on the tax almost three years ago, back in January 2023.
In 2025, 180,751 residential units (97.5 per cent) were declared occupied, 413 units (0.2 per cent) were declared vacant, and 4,255 (2.3 per cent) were “deemed vacant due to non-submission of the occupancy declaration.”
Thus, 4,668 units were reported as being subject to the tax, pending further appeals.
Staff originally forecasted that only 1,135 units would be subject to the tax.
Multiple Councillors expressed concerns that those who did not respond to the city but are now subject to the tax could potentially be elderly, those who do not speak English fluently, or those who simply do not check their mail regularly.
VOTE TO CONTINUE VACANT UNIT TAX ANOTHER YEAR (October 29, 2025)
IN FAVOUR (8): Maureen Wilson (Ward 1 – Chedoke-Cootes-Westdale), Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2 – Downtown Hamilton), Nrinder Nann (Ward 3 – East Hamilton Centre), Tammy Hwang (Ward 4 – Hamilton East), Mark Tadeson (Ward 11 – Glanbrook-Binbrook-Mount Hope), Craig Cassar (Ward 12 – Ancaster-West Flamborough), Alex Wilson (Ward 13 – Dundas-Central Flamborough), Ted McMeekin (Ward 15 – East Flamborough-Waterdown)
AGAINST (7): Matt Francis (Ward 5 – Hamilton East-Stoney Creek), Tom Jackson (Ward 6 – East Mountain), Esther Pauls (Ward 7 – Central Mountain), Rob Cooper (Ward 8 – West/Central Mountain), Brad Clark (Ward 9 – Upper Stoney Creek), Jeff Beattie (Ward 10 – Stoney Creek-Fruitland-Winona), Mike Spadafora (Ward 14 – West Mountain)
CONFLICT (1): Mayor Andrea Horwath
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
