A downtown condominium complex is a major contributor to Toronto’s property tax arrears with 15 units collectively owing more than $10.2 million. The City’s recently released list of debtors with tax bills surpassing $500,000 identifies five different recalcitrant corporate owners at the 222 Spadina Avenue property, four of which have unpaid balances dating back to 1997.
The City of Toronto acquired three floors of the same building in 2021, where it now offers 84 units of supportive housing in conjunction with the partner non-profit organization, Homes First Society. Background information from Toronto Revenue Services notes that the units on the debtors’ list have also been put up for tax sales at various times, but it has been deemed “not in the City’s best interest” to take title to the property. Nor have other suitable buyers come forward.
The Revenue Services backgrounder chronicles a history of failed efforts to contact the owners via mail and non-response to urgent notices left at the property. “This Spadina Avenue condominium complex has numerous abandoned units,” it reports.
Under the City of Toronto Act, a tax arrears certificate can be issued to property owners when they fail to pay property taxes for two consecutive years, thus serving notification that they have one year to pay the outstanding debt before forfeiting the property through a tax sale. It is expected that tax arrears certificates will be re-registered against the properties in 2024.
“Given that property taxes form a first priority lien on the property, the City’s tax receivables are secure with minimal risk of uncollectable taxes,” the recent report to City Council states. “The use of municipal tax sale proceedings, as prescribed in the City of Toronto Act, 2006, is a proven and effective tool in the collection of unpaid property taxes.”
However, unpaid taxes and accumulated interest at an annual rate of 15 per cent significantly surpass the current value assessment (CVA) of the 15 units at 222 Spadina Avenue, which is collectively pegged at about $5.9 million. The condo units account for a sizable dollar share of the roughly $45.6 million owed by the City’s 29 largest debtors, but are a tiny fraction of the tax base in a City where it’s estimated 97 to 98 per cent of ratepayers pay their full bills in the year they receive them.
