City Completes Shift to More Balanced Property Tax Treatment for Renters

Owen Sound City Council has voted to bring the multi-residential property tax ratio in line with the residential rate, completing a phased approach that Council first approved several years ago.

 

The change means that older rental apartment buildings will no longer be taxed at a higher rate than comparable residential properties. For tenants in older buildings, that disparity has long translated into higher costs passed through by landlords, despite receiving the same municipal services as everyone else.                                 

 

The inconsistency went beyond just renters versus homeowners. Newer apartment buildings in Owen Sound were already taxed at the lower 1.0 ratio, while older buildings were not. Two nearly identical buildings on the same street could face different tax burdens simply based on when they were built.

 

This approach does not mean that the City is collecting less tax revenue. The total levy stays the same; what changes is how it’s divided among property classes. Moving the multi-residential ratio to 1.0 shifts some of that burden away from rental housing and onto other classes, including residential.

 

Under provincial rules, significant tax reductions for multi-residential properties can be passed on to tenants as rent reductions. Whether and how that plays out will vary, but the policy removes a structural barrier that was working against affordability.

 

A number of Ontario municipalities — including York, Simcoe, Perth, Muskoka, Leeds and Grenville, Bruce, and Barrie — have already made the same move. Grey County has approved a matching adjustment, which would ensure the change works as intended across both tiers of government.

 

The City will now move to finalize tax rates and billing ahead of upcoming due dates.

 

For more information, please contact Kate Allan, Director of Corporate Services at 519-376-4440 ext. 1238 or email kallan@owensound.ca

 

 

 

— Ian Boddy, Mayor

 

 

 

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