Ottawa City Committee approves vacant house permit system

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The city of Ottawa is approaching not taxing anything.

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Landlords who have nothing to do with their property are required to purchase a permit each year under the Staff-Recommended Articles of Incorporation approved by the Council Committee on Thursday.

The city has been encouraging the maintenance of decent property, protecting heritage buildings, and developing policies to increase local housing supplies, especially during the council’s term. Most recently, Congress approved a vacant unit tax on homes, hoping that landlords would spur their units to rent out quickly.

The Articles of Association require a $ 1,703 annual permit as soon as the property is vacant for 120 consecutive days.

The city uses the permit income to hire two bylaws staff to manage the program.

City officials identified 216 vacant properties across Ottawa in a final check in October 2021. The ward with the most vacant properties was 51 Rideau-Vanier. Kitchissippi (38), Somerset (29), Rideau-Rockcliffe (13), Knoxdale-Merivale (12) closed the top five wards.

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Most of the properties on the list were used for homes. 156 vacant residential properties had a total of 190 units.

Of the 216 vacant properties identified last, 110 had development plans.

According to staff, vacant properties are 14 times more likely to cause a call to the Articles of Incorporation officer than occupied properties. Vacant properties are also 1.5 times more likely to elicit an emergency service response.

“We really need this,” said Lorrie Marlow, chairman of the Mechanicsville Community Association, explaining some of the “nightmare” properties in the neighborhood.

The permit system applies only to completely vacant buildings and lands.

The city has begun reviewing the bylaws as part of the council’s term work plan. The council approved a vacant building strategy to enforce real estate standards in 2013, and earlier this term, the council asked staff to conduct a review.

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When the vacant house strategy was formulated in 2013, the city knew 95 vacant properties, and the increase since then has facilitated the enforcement of ordinance services.

Landowners will tell the city when their property is 120 days free and will trigger a permit requirement. The vacancy period ends when the land owner creates an occupancy permit or other proof that the land is being used in accordance with the zoning regulations.

Not all vacant properties fall under the permit system.

Exclusions cover major residences, cottages, zoning-licensed natural areas, agricultural real estate, real estate owned by the city of Otawa, and non-heritage real estate in rural zones excluding rural and rural residential zones.

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Violations can result in fines of up to $ 1,000 and there is a process to raise the fines to up to $ 100,000 per day.

The city also provides a two-year exemption to pay a permit if the landowner dies, if the family gives time to settle the property, and if the owner is in the hospital or other care. It offers. Properties damaged by other catastrophic events such as natural disasters and fires are also exempt from two-year fees, and local housing agencies are also exempt in case the program runs out of funds.

Homebuilders, especially those building new communities, did not like the draft ordinance to affect many who focus on new suburban homes.

Jason Burggraaf, executive director of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association, warned the councilor about “overkill.”

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It is incorrect for developers to pay permits for all lots of subdivision plans that are not yet occupied, Burggraaf said. “It will only increase the cost of all those new homes,” he said.

Berggraf said he did not oppose the permit system that applies to existing neighborhoods, admitting that some vacant properties could be annoying. He wondered if the property under construction obviously requires a real estate permit that is still open.

Thanks for the corrections proposed by the coun. Eli El-Chantiry has been approved by the Commission, and homebuilders with subdivision plans only have to pay one permit for the subdivided vacant lot and $ 25 per lot for administration.

A recommendation to raise taximeter fares was also on the committee’s agenda.

The Commission has approved a 10 percent increase in fares regulated by the city. As for taximeters, the cost of fuel and maintenance is soaring, so we asked for an increase in taximeters. There has been no increase in taximeters for 12 years.

In another move to help cabbage, the Commission knocked down their commercial general liability insurance from $ 5 million to $ 2 million.

All bylaw changes recommended by the Commission will be considered by the Council on Wednesday.

jwilling@postmedia.com

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