The City of Toronto has made Purchasers responsible for the added tax which might come as a surprise.
So, consider adding the following clause or something similar to an Offer on a residential property in Toronto:
“The Seller warrants and represents that the property is not subject to the Toronto Vacant Home Tax and agrees to provide a copy of the duly executed Declaration filed with the City of Toronto to the Buyer. In the event that the City should assess the property with a vacant home tax, then the Seller will either pay the tax, in full together with interest and penalties or proceed with a challenge to the City’s imposition of the tax. The challenge will be resolved within eighteen months of the completion date, otherwise, the Seller will pay all such funds into Court or to the City, in order to clear the property from such taxes.”
“The Seller shall deliver on closing a Statutory Declaration that the Declaration submitted to the City of Toronto claiming an exemption from the City’s Vacant Home Tax is true and correct.”
The Purchaser might also consider a financial holdback if the City has already assessed the tax.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker