The Vacant Home Tax applies at 3% of a property's Current Value Assessment for any residential unit vacant more than six months in the taxation year. It started at 1% when the programme launched in 2022 and rose to 3% starting with the 2024 taxation year — a full tripling in two years, which is the kind of change worth checking for annually rather than assuming stays put.
Every residential owner has to submit a declaration each year confirming occupancy status — the tax isn't self-reporting-optional the way it sounds. Miss the declaration and the property is automatically deemed vacant and taxed accordingly, regardless of whether anyone actually lived there. The tax becomes a lien on the property if unpaid.
As of 8 August 2026, the declaration window for the 2025 taxation year (deadline 30 April 2026) has closed; the City has not yet announced the 2026 taxation year's declaration dates. Multi-residential, commercial, industrial, vacant land without structures, and parking-space assessments are excluded from the requirement entirely.
A property that's genuinely vacant can still avoid the tax under a defined list of exemptions — each one has to be claimed on the declaration with supporting documentation, and most carry a duration limit (typically two to three years) rather than applying indefinitely.
A condo manager or vacation-property operator with off-season inventory, a unit between tenants, or a listing paused for renovation is exactly the profile this tax is built to catch. Miss one declaration across a portfolio of units and it isn't a rounding error — it's 3% of that unit's assessed value, for a property that may well have been rented most of the year.