The mandatory declaration is primarily completed online Declaration create · Starter Portal (ottawa.ca). It should take no longer than five minutes to complete.
The Vacant Unit Tax was introduced and passed in the last term of city council. I was not involved in this decision.
I will note that on December 14th at Ottawa City Council I voted to support a motion that would have city staff report back to Council on statistics from the program including costs incurred and resident complaints. You can find the motion in its entirety on page 38 of the meeting minutes from December 14th here: eSCRIBE Minutes (escribemeetings.com) How to complete the Vacant Unit Tax declaration - YouTube