The City of Vancouver levies an annual Empty Homes Tax (EHT) on vacant Vancouver homes and residential lands to encourage owners to rent their homes or build new homes on vacant lots.

Property owners must annually complete a property status declaration to determine if their property is subject to the Empty Homes Tax.

Here’s how to submit your declaration.

The tax rate is 3% for 2024. Owners of non-principal residences unoccupied for six months or more each year pay this tax. If a property is unoccupied for more than 6 months of the current year, it will be subject to the tax unless an exemption applies.

Exemptions include:

• a property being renovated, or under construction or redevelopment (with permits);
• the owner (or other occupier) is undergoing medical or supportive care;
• the owner has died and the property is in probate;
• the property changed ownership during the previous year;
• there are strata rental restrictions prohibiting rental;
• the owner uses the property for six months a year for work and has a principal residence elsewhere;
• there is a court order prohibiting occupancy; and
• the property is limited to vehicle parking, or a residential building can’t be constructed because of the size or shape of the property.

Owners claiming an exemption must provide evidence, for example, building permits, a letter from a care facility, a death certificate, strata bylaws, or other relevant documents.

Property status scenarios

Learn about different scenarios, and if the EHT applies or the property owner is exempt.

The city defines principal residence as:

“The usual place where an individual lives, makes his or her home and conducts his or her daily affairs, including, paying bills and receiving mail, and is the residential address used on documentation related to billing, identification, taxation and insurance purposes, including income tax returns, medical services plan documents, driver’s licences, personal identification, vehicle registration and utility bills.”

Properties with multiple dwellings

• Non-stratified duplex: exempt if one of the properties in the duplex is a principal residence for at least six months of the current year or rented to a tenant for residential purposes for at least six months of the current year in periods of 30 or more consecutive days. A non-stratified duplex occupies a single parcel of land so only one property status declaration is required.
• Stratified duplex: there are two separate properties and each requires a declaration.
• Secondary suite and/or a laneway house: a property isn’t taxable if one of the dwellings is a principal residence or is rented for a for at least six months of the current year in periods of 30 or more consecutive days. If the tax applies, the property is taxes as a single parcel.
• Multi-unit rental building: an owner of a multi-unit, purpose-built rental building under one folio must complete an EHT declaration. To be exempt from the EHT, only one unit within the building needs to be used as a principal residence for at least six months of the year or rented to a tenant for at least six months of the current year in periods of 30 or more consecutive days. In the declaration, the registered owner is required to list at least one tenancy agreement with the option to include more or all for the property. 

Property owners who don’t qualify for an exemption can:

• live in their property as a principal residence;
• rent their property for a minimum of 180 days of the year, in periods of at least 30 consecutive days;
• hire a property management firm to rent the property on a long-term or periodic basis;
• have a family member occupy the property as their principal residence;
• sell the property; or
• keep the property as-is and pay the Empty Homes Tax.

Owners will receive notification to complete a property status declaration with their advance property tax notice issued in December each year. The declaration is due in early February and the tax is payable in mid-April. Deadlines change each year.

A property owner who doesn’t complete their declaration will have their home deemed empty and will pay the three per cent tax. All declarations will be audited.

If a home owner has a complaint, they must file it with the Vacancy Tax Review office within 30 days of the date of the issue of the vacancy tax notice. A Vacancy Tax Officer will review the complaint and notify the home owner whether the tax will be imposed or reversed.

If the home owner disagrees, they have 21 days to appeal to the Vacancy Tax Review Panel. The panel’s decision is final.

• The city engaged in a consultation process to help shape and define the tax, and to address property owners’ concerns and ensure they aren’t unfairly treated.
• This consultation process included a mailout to 200,000 residential property owners, and an online survey completed by over 10,000 respondents. In total, 81 per cent of renters and 56 per cent of owners agreed with the tax.
• As a result of the consultation, the city incorporated a number of changes to exemptions.
• All net monies raised from the tax will be used for affordable housing initiatives.

Learn about Vancouver’s Empty Homes Tax.

Note: The province levies a BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax and the Federal government levies an Underused Housing Tax.