Edmonton to tax derelict residential properties at three times the normal rate

Edmonton is introducing a new tax subclass aimed at cracking down on derelict properties. 

There are about 300 residential properties in Edmonton that the city considers derelict. 

The city says the properties are a problem because they can be hazardous and also look unseemly. 

To deal with such properties, the Edmonton city council passed a bylaw on Wednesday, creating a new tax subclass for residential properties in mature areas of the city. 

This new subclass will allow the city to charge a higher tax rate to owners of properties that are assessed as derelict.

The derelict property owners may end up getting charged three times the residential tax rates, said Ward Métis Coun. Ashley Salvador

In order to be classified as derelict, the properties must be dilapidated condition, uninhabitable, deserted, fully or partially boarded up, or abandoned during construction or demolition, said Cate Watt, branch manager at assessment and taxation with the city.

"We're not here to chase down somebody who maybe didn't cut their grass," Watt said. 

"We're really looking for the blights that exist in the communities."

Anna Bubel has been a resident of the inner-city neighbourhood of McCauley for 30 years. 

She lived three doors up from a derelict house that had been sitting empty. That house caught fire many times and was broken into multiple times, too, she said. Earlier this year, that house burned down and its remnants were demolished. 

Such houses can be magnets for illicit activity, Bubel said. 

"It's a whole range of really serious and concerning downstream effects for neighbours," Bubel said. 

"If you live beside one of these properties, you don't feel safe. I have neighbours who are unwilling to walk down their own blocks for fear of what might happen if they walk by a derelict property," she said. 

Higher tax

Between 2017 and 2020, 31 derelict homes cost the city $1.3 million in bylaw inspections and enforcement, and safety and welfare checks, Salvador said.

Once the new tax goes into effect in April next year, the city stands to raise between $900,000 and $1 million, she said. 

Currently, derelict property owners are not being taxed a triple the normal rate. By passing the bylaw, the council gave itself the legal authority to impose a higher tax on derelict properties specifically, Watt said. 

"The reason we brought it forward to them [on Wednesday] is to give us enough time to communicate with the owners of these buildings, to give them a heads up and some awareness that this change has been made and likely will impact their taxes." 

The property owners will be notified by mail and will have until Dec. 31 to bring their properties to a satisfactory enough condition that they're no longer classified as derelict. 

Should some owners refuse to pay the hiked tax, the city has enforcement mechanisms to force them to pay up. If the tax is not paid on time, the city imposes additional penalties, and if the tax is not paid by the end of the year, it goes into arrears and accrues interest until it's paid. 

The city also has the ability to put the property on an auction, and the owner loses their property. However, the city rarely uses this enforcement tool. 

The new bylaw is likely to be positively received, Salvador said. 

"These types of properties have been issues in our neighbourhoods for years, decades in some cases," she said. 

"I think that the community is very supportive of the council taking a stronger approach to addressing these properties."