A new 1% vacant home tax in Toronto could come into effect as early as the start of 2022, a move that aims to improve affordable housing in the city.

In December, city council voted in favour (24-1) of implementing the tax levy on vacant Toronto homes to increase housing supply — opening up the housing and rental markets — and to generate post-pandemic tax revenue for Toronto to fund essential affordable housing projects across the city.

Once passed, residential property owners would be required to make a declaration each year by the deadline and could be subject to a city audit to verify whether the home is vacant or not.

Now, City staff are proposing to complete public consultations to have the tax in place for January 1, 2022, with the first annual property declarations in respect of the 2022 taxation being due in 2023. 

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