Last Wednesday, Hamilton City Council voted unanimously 13-0 to approve a motion from Councillors Matt Francis (Ward 5 – Hamilton East-Stoney Creek) and Tom Jackson (Ward 6 – East Mountain) to waive the municipality’s $500 Vacant Unit Tax Late Appeal Fee for those facing “exceptional circumstances.”
For the first year of the Vacant Unit Tax – 2024 vacancy year/2025 collection – the city’s declaration deadline was May 30, 2025.
“No fee” appeals were open from June 16 until Nov. 30, 2025.
And “late” appeals, subject to a $500 Late Appeal Fee, are open from Jan. 1, 2026, until Dec. 31, 2026.
For the second year of the Vacant Unit Tax – 2025 vacancy year/2026 collection – the city’s declaration deadline was May 15, 2026.
The no fee appeal period is open now until Oct. 7, 2026.
After that, late appeals subject to the $500 Late Appeal Fee, will be open from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2027.
The city’s General Issues Committee recently heard from a delegate who said that his elderly mother, who is on a fixed income, was told that she would have to pay the $500 Late Appeal Fee.
As such, Francis’s and Jackson’s motion at Council says that the Late Appeal Fee should be waived if there are specific extenuating circumstances at play in a resident’s appeal.
All Council members agreed to the motion, which will see the Late Appeal Fee waived for property owners who are at least 65 years of age prior to Jan. 1, 2026, or are in receipt of assistance paid under the Ontario Disability Support Program, a disability paid under the Guaranteed Income Supplement or an amount paid under the CPP disability benefit.
However, the combined income of all other registered owners must be $44,568 or less as indicated on line 15000 Total Income of Canada Revenue Agency’s 2025 Notice of Assessment adjusted for income splitting.
The Late Appeal Fee will also be waived in other circumstances, such as in cases where an error by the city resulted in an owner’s inability to submit a declaration, if the owner was away from the property due to entering long-term care, hospitalization or incarceration, if the owner passed away during the declaration period or first appeal period, and if the owner was away on a military posting, for education, or on a work assignment.
“[The motion] simply provides administrative flexibility to address exceptional circumstances, improve fairness, reduce hardship for vulnerable residents who miss the appeal deadlines through no fault of their own,” explained Francis.
“The change balances compassion with the program integrity by requiring supporting documentation and maintaining oversight through administrative discretion by the program administrator or director,” he added.
Jackson said that he has had “several” seniors call him “in distress” because they missed a deadline or thought they had submitted on time only to find out that they would have to pay a $500 Late Appeal Fee.
Staff say that they have collected $242,000 in total revenue from the Late Appeal Fee alone.
It should be noted that Francis’s and Jackson’s motion only applies to late appeals that are pending as of Aug. 5, 2026, or new late appeals received between Aug. 5 and Dec. 31, 2026.
Jackson wanted to make the motion retroactive to previous appeals as well, but staff said that that would require them to report back to Council first with respect to the feasibility of such a proposal.
Thus, Jackson said that the motion should go forward as-is and that he will bring forward an additional motion at a future meeting to have the Late Appeal Fee waived retroactively for those that qualify as well.
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.
