Windsor asked people to help tax vacant homes and the results surprised them

Windsor's push to tax people that own houses that sit empty in a city dealing with an affordable housing crunch has led to some surprising early results, according to staff.

The program, which started in June, is complaint driven and has led to more than 200 tips from people who have reported homes they believe are vacant in the city. 

City inspections have led to more than 100 being charged an additional three per cent of the home's assessed value. 

But it wasn't just neighbours' complaints that have led to the tax being charged. Janice Guthrie, the city's chief financial officer, said that seven property owners came forward and self declared that their properties were vacant. 

"It was actually a pleasant surprise that they are taking this seriously."

She said the self declarations have led to conversations with city staff who are working to help the owner get a tenant in the property or a proper building permit for renovations. 

The city sends someone to every property that's part of a complaint to see if falls under the program. 

Exemptions available to some

A home is taxed if it's been empty for half the year, with a few exemptions including:

• An active permit for a renovation project.
• It's publicly listed for sale or rent for less than 12 consecutive months.
• The owner is in long-term care or has died (this exemption lasts for two years).

"There may be situations that call for the property not to be eligible, but we don't want to stop that momentum," said Guthrie.

She said these properties are spread throughout Windsor, including a batch in Sandwich Towne on the city's west end.

That's where boarded up homes owned by the Ambassador Bridge owner have sat vacant for decades.

Guthrie said the money will be used for housing and homelessness programs in the city but doesn't expect it to be a huge influx of funds. 

The goal is to activate housing units in a city with a record low vacancy rate that has pushed rents and housing costs to record highs for the area. 

"Other than covering the staff costs dedicated to the program, it does not directly offset that tax pressures that we're having to take a look at," said Guthrie. 

Preliminary figures from the city estimated there were between 250 and 500 vacant homes in Windsor. 

The city has decided to take a soft approach to the tax that differs from systems like the one originally launched in Toronto. 

Homeowners in that city were required to declare that their home was occupied or empty. Failing to do so would lead to fine for a late declaration or the city would charge them three per cent of the assessed value of the home. 

Confusion led to tens of thousands of complaints from homeowners saying they were charged in error, resulting in an overhaul of the program. 

Guthrie said Windsor's program has been running smoothly.

"We're encouraged by the community input and we really would like to see that continue. Staff internally will look to see if we can discover properties on our own as time permits, but we're not looking to (make) any changes at this point in time."