What is Hamilton's Vacant Unit Tax?
A yearly charge on empty homes. The City will be charging an additional tax of one percent of a property’s current assessed value, on any residential unit that is vacant for more than 183 days in the previous year. Hamilton joins the cities of Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa to implement a Vacant Unit Tax.
(City of Hamilton, Vacant Unit Tax) It counts units, not buildings: The City uses the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) property code to determine how many units are contained in a residential property. For example, a duplex would contain two units within the property.
So one empty unit in a duplex is declared on its own.
When is a renovation exempt?
When it is major, long and on permit. The exemption reads: Major renovations: major renovations or redevelopment make occupation of a unit impossible for more than 183 days in the same calendar year, provided a building permit has been issued.
(City of Hamilton, Vacant Unit Tax) Three conditions, all at once: the work makes living there impossible, it lasts more than 183 days in the year, and there is a building permit. Which renovation jobs Hamilton treats as permit work is in permits for rental renovations.
Does a turnover between tenants count?
Not if it is quick. The tax is about more than 183 days of vacancy in a year, and a turnover of a few weeks is far from that. The risk is a unit that sits empty for months while work stalls, with no permit to claim the renovation exemption. Planning the work so the unit is rented again fast is the simplest answer: see property turnovers, and for buildings with turnovers every year, property service agreements.
What other exemptions might a rental owner meet?
The City's list includes these:
Sale of the property: the Vacant Unit Tax will not apply in the year of the sale if the transfer is to an unrelated individual or corporation.
Uninhabitable/Hazardous Property: a property that has become uninhabitable due to hazardous conditions or a substantial damage from a disaster outside of the control of the property owner.
Court order: if a court order prohibiting occupancy of the residential property is in effect.
(City of Hamilton, Vacant Unit Tax) A flood is the kind of damage the second one is about; the repair side is in water damage and mold in rentals.
When do I declare?
Every year, for every unit. For the 2025 year the City set these dates: Declaration Period Opened: December 17, 2025
, Initial mandatory declaration deadline: April 15, 2026
and Extended declaration deadline: May 15, 2026
. Missing it is costly: If a mandatory declaration is not submitted by the extended declaration deadline of May 15, 2026, the residential unit will be considered vacant, and the Vacant Unit Tax will be charged.
(City of Hamilton, Vacant Unit Tax) The City also reported that for 2024, 97.8% of eligible properties submitted declarations
. Check the page each winter for the next year's dates.
What does it mean for my Hamilton unit?
Keep the empty days short, and if a big job will run past half the year, get the permit first and keep it. Reborn Renos does turnovers and apartment and commercial renovations across Hamilton. The city's other rental rules, from heat to safe apartment buildings, are on our Hamilton page. Call (905) 920-1418, Monday to Saturday, 7 am to 7 pm, or send the details on the request page.
This is a plain summary of the City's page, not tax or legal advice. The City's page and by-law are what count.