Vancouver city council votes to reduce the Empty Homes Tax

Vancouver’s ABC majority city council approved some changes to the city’s Empty Homes Tax Wednesday.

Most prominent among those changes is scaling the rate back to three per cent, rather than keeping it at the five per cent approved by the previous council a little over a year ago.

Although this rate isn’t quite concrete at three per cent, as the city says staff will report back to council about moving to a graduated rate that charges more the longer a home remains empty.

Read more:

• ‘A move in the wrong direction’: Vancouver council to vote on decreasing Empty Homes Tax

Exemptions will also be in place for a strata rental restriction, new housing units listed for sale by developers, properties waiting for renovation permits, and homeowners receiving critical medical care.

Councillor Christine Boyle with One City Vancouver told CityNews she is happy to support some of the exemptions put in place for the Empty Homes Tax, but is “very disappointed” in the rate dropping back to three per cent.

“The reality is that the Empty Homes Tax has been working, (it) returned more than 4000 empty units to the long-term rental market … I think it’s a real step. backwards to see it reduced.”

Boyle says the surprising part about this change is the exemption involving new housing units listed for sale by developers.

“Until it’s sold, the owner can list it for as high a price as they like and, until it’s sold, wouldn’t need to pay the empty homes tax and have no incentive to lower the price,” she explained.

“We all know how expensive housing is, and you know folks trying to buy their first place young families trying to stay in Vancouver should be able to benefit from the softening of the market and prices going down a tiny bit.”

Originally introduced in 2017, the Empty Homes Tax started at one per cent and increased three times aside from the rise to five per cent, which was voted down Wednesday.

The City of Vancouver says the latest Empty Homes Tax Annual Report does show a yearly decrease in vacant homes, adding $115.3 million has been collected from the tax and directed toward plans for affordable housing.

-With files from John Ackermann