{"id":4786,"date":"2026-04-14T15:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T15:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/4786\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T15:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T15:59:09","slug":"how-edmonton-helped-inspire-reginas-new-plan-to-tax-derelict-homeowners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/4786\/","title":{"rendered":"How Edmonton helped inspire Regina’s new plan to tax derelict homeowners"},"content":{"rendered":"

The City of Regina\u2019s decision to try a new strategy for dealing with nuisance properties has turned eyes toward the original inspiration: Edmonton.<\/p>\n

Cate Watt, lead assessor with the City of Edmonton, says there\u2019s plenty of information to share about their innovative taxation approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been quite under the spotlight over our derelict subclass,\u201d Watt told the Regina Leader-Post. \u201cA lot of people are really interested in it, and that\u2019s been exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edmonton was the first city in Canada to create a derelict residential property subclass, imposing a substantially higher tax rate on problem lots to pressure owners into cleaning them up.<\/p>\n

Regina city council is ready to do the same, voting to create a new subclass<\/a> whereby properties classified as derelict will be taxed at five times the usual residential rate.<\/p>\n

City administration had suggested sticking with status-quo bylaw enforcement, but Ward 6 Coun. Victoria Flores found enough support from fellow councillors to approve the subclass on March 25.<\/p>\n

The decision tied a bow on more than a year<\/a> of internal review, first requested by council in 2024.<\/p>\n

The city plans to spend the next year on an initial scan to identify eligible properties before firming up details in time for the 2028 taxation year.<\/p>\n

As that work unfolds, Watt said Edmonton\u2019s progress may help Regina create its blueprint.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

A home sits boarded up in Regina, Saskatchewan on Feb. 21, 2020.<\/p>\n

What is Edmonton doing?<\/p>\n

The origin story behind Edmonton\u2019s strategy reads a lot like the one in Regina. Councillors heard a swell of concerns from residents about sketchy, boarded-up houses that were an increasing source of fires, crime and safety risks.<\/p>\n

So, in 2023, Edmonton city council decided to try taxing neglectful property owners into action by charging them three times the normal rate.<\/p>\n

The subclass was first applied in 2024<\/a> for a select zone within Edmonton\u2019s mature, central neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been very successful in achieving what city council was attempting to achieve,\u201d said Watt.<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

Edmonton defines \u201cderelict\u201d as any residential property that is clearly neglected or unliveable. It also applies to homes that have been abandoned mid-construction or mid-demolition.<\/p>\n

Since 2023, Edmonton has classified 441 properties as \u201cderelict\u201d \u2014 202 in 2024 and 239 in 2025. About 30 per cent have taken action, either by demolishing, remediating or selling the home.<\/p>\n

Very few have tried to fight the designation, Watt added. Four appeals were filed in 2024 and the city prevailed in the two that went before the appeals board. The other two were retracted.<\/p>\n

After the initial rollout, Edmonton added a tax forgiveness element whereby owners can have the additional taxes refunded for the time period they spend waiting on demolition or building permits.<\/p>\n

Edmonton has collected just over $2.55 million via the subclass but Watt said the program is essentially breaking even because of the cost to deliver it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal was never to make money,\u201d Watt said. \u201cIt is a tool along with a suite of other tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been so successful that Edmonton plans to expand the subclass citywide in 2027. The city is also eyeing a similar version for non-residential properties<\/a>, Watt said.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Wendy Miller, executive director of the Heritage Community Association, sits for a portrait inside the HCA offices on Thursday March 20, 2025 in Regina.<\/p>\n

What about Regina?<\/p>\n

The Queen City\u2019s core neighbourhoods are in a similar spot, with community leaders calling for a change in approach to the growing problem of nuisance properties.<\/p>\n

According to the city, by the end of 2025 it had catalogued 894 properties under the \u201cnuisance\u201d definition of the community standards bylaw, which ranges from boarded-up houses to overgrown grass.<\/p>\n

Bylaw enforcement officers investigated 173 such properties in 2024, issuing 87 demolition orders and completing 44 demolitions. Most were in older neighbourhoods like North Central, Heritage and Al Ritchie.<\/p>\n

Heritage Community Association executive director Wendy Miller and North Central Community Association executive director Pat Faulconbridge have compared notes about the issue in their respective areas.<\/p>\n

Both agree it\u2019s a positive step for Regina to utilize taxation as a deterrent, in addition to bylaw-related fines and orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we don\u2019t do anything, we\u2019re sending a message that this is OK in our community,\u201d said Miller. \u201cHopefully, with this new subclass passing, that will help get folks thinking in a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller and Faulconbridge also hope the city will go beyond taxing and issuing fines.<\/p>\n

Faulconbridge says the greater solution requires hand-in-hand incentives, ones that encourage targeted owners to fix up their dilapidated houses instead of tearing them down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would like to see some of these houses stay in the market, stay available because affordable housing is such a challenge in our neighbourhood,\u201d said Faulconbridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to see empty lots,\u201d added Miller. \u201cWe want to see new builds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Pat Faulconbridge, executive director of the North Central Community Association, stands for a portrait at the Mamaweyatitan centre on Thursday Feb. 8, 2024 in Regina.<\/p>\n

Applying lessons learned<\/p>\n

Watt said many of Edmonton\u2019s torn-down properties are still empty lots, but some have been redeveloped into new housing. Talk is even underway to add another subclass for vacant properties, she said.<\/p>\n

Asked what Edmonton has learned so far, Watt said a careful definition of \u201cderelict\u201d is key.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needed to be specific enough that any appeal board would know what we meant by derelict, but also broad enough to capture what we meant by derelict. It was sort of a threading of a needle in creating that definition,\u201d Watt explained.<\/p>\n

Regina\u2019s definition is still being determined, but Flores asked for the subclass to address residential properties that are \u201cdeserted or abandoned, partially or fully boarded up\u201d or flagged as \u201cunfit for habitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In hindsight, one thing Watt would change about Edmonton\u2019s rollout was the timeline. The city moved swiftly after council green-lit the policy, taking just a few months before applying it to property tax bills.<\/p>\n

Some residents said they were caught off guard by the sudden financial hit, she said, noting her office fielded calls expressing those concerns.<\/p>\n

Watt thinks Regina\u2019s plan to launch the program in 2028 sounds better, musing that the \u201clong runway\u201d might even spur some to owners to be proactive.<\/p>\n

All in all, Watt believes Regina can expect this tactic to help move the needle on neglect, so long as the city continues to use taxation in tandem with fines, bylaw orders and fire inspections.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased entirely on Edmonton\u2019s experience, I\u2019d say (Regina can be) reasonably hopeful,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u2014 with files from the Edmonton Journal<\/p>\n

l_kurz@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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