City to give residents 60-day grace period on property tax, utility bills

Thestar.com
March 20, 2020
Jennifer Pagliaro

The city of Toronto will introduce a 60-day grace period for residents to pay property tax, water and solid waste bills on Friday, the Star has learned.

Businesses will also get a 30-day extension on a grace period announced for them earlier this week. The grace period applies to bills as of March 16.

Mayor John Tory, who launched an economic support and recovery task force on Monday to help struggling businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak, is set to make that announcement Friday morning.

The grace period does not apply to hydro bills.

On Monday, Toronto Hydro said they would extend their promise to suspend electricity disconnections for unpaid bills and would assist customers experiencing “financial hardship.”

The decision means property owners won’t be charged any late penalties if they can’t make their payments for 60 days as the city works to manage the spread of the virus, which has caused businesses to close, crippled tourism and other industries, and has seen some workers lose their jobs.

The announcement is part of a series of ongoing relief measures introduced by various governments in the past two weeks. Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province on Tuesday.

Utility bills will no longer be due 21 days after the billing date, with an extension of an additional 60 days, Tory is expected to outline. Property tax bills will be changed to reflect the grace period.

The mayor is also expected to make a renewed commitment to help tenants, who are currently not receiving any government-directed relief on rent payments. Though property owners may be able to defer mortgage payments up to six months, six big banks announced Wednesday, there’s no obligation or incentive for landlords to allow tenants to defer rent payments over that same period.

Tory, who remains in self-isolation after travelling to London, England, is scheduled to host a teleconference with landlords on Monday as part of his task force.