As we know, our friends to the north are generally not known for their free-market economics – and real estate is no exception. Recently, the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia enacted a vacancy tax on property owners who leave homes vacant (except their primary) for a year or more. The measure was conceived as a solution to increase the amount of available rental housing and could cost owners as much as $20,000 a year on a home valued at million dollars. The city’s rental vacancy rate has been around 1% for the past five years. So basically, Vancouver is using the power of taxation to coerce property owners into renting their empty units, whether they can, care or even want to….So much much for freedom. Interestingly, occupancy information will be self-reported to the city – so you can see right away where this is heading.
“The main goal of the empty-house tax is to put more homes on the market…This empty-homes tax is not a silver-bullet-solution … but we expect this will be an important tool to start the shift.” Said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.
