On September 14th 2016, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson announced that owners of vacant homes would be facing a staggering extra 0.5 to 2% on their property tax, based on the properties valuation. His justification for this action, you might ask, is as follows: “Vancouver’s dangerously low vacancy rate is putting our renters in crisis. Our proposed empty homes tax is first and foremost about bringing rental homes back into the market,” (Laanela, 2016). Personally, I agree with him. In the current real estate market in Vancouver, many struggle with trying to find a proper living space as purchasing homes for example, is extremely expensive. This is not to mention the fact that there is a rather large shortage of available space. Robertson is attempting to tackle the latter in this endeavour. The tax is set to come into place next year, in 2017.
How will this tax be implemented? It will require proof of residency to be added in the property tax process. If property owners can prove it is their primary residence, they will not have to pay the tax, and vice versa. Kathleen Llewellyn-Thomas, who is Vancouver’s GM of community services, stressed that “Penalties for non-compliance are still being worked out, but they would have to be significant enough to ensure it made financial sense to pay the tax instead,” (Laanela, 2016). This is extremely important to note, as it ensures owners will properly self-declare their empty property.
Generally speaking, the people of Vancouver are mostly on board with this proposed tax. Citizen Tsur Somerville stated in an On the Coast interview: “The rental market here is so tight that even working a little bit is a big plus. If all of a sudden, just by taxing people who are making things more expensive, you can help out the people who are most affected — even if it’s just 200 households — that strikes me as a really good thing” (Laanela, 2016). He went on to comically suggest “If what we’re talking about is making Vancouver affordable, it’s not going to make Vancouver affordable at all.” On the other hand, those who do in fact own the estimated 10,000 vacant homes in Vancouver are obviously not pleased.
Perplexingly enough, 25 vacant homes have been set on fire in 2016, which is four times the number of that in 2015 (Slattery, 2016). In more recent news, 8 of these fires has occurred since October 23rd, well after the tax had been announced. Potential motives for these events are currently unknown, but it is possible that they may be linked to this tax proposal.
This photograph illustrates a fire crew at a vacant home on 41st Avenue and Cambie Street, in Vancouver.
Word Count: 432
References (APA):
[Fire crews attend a fire inside a vacant home on 41st Ave. and Cambie Street.]. (2016, November 10). Retrieved November 13, 2016, from https://shawglobalnews.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/cambie-fire-2.png?w=720&h=480&crop=1
Laanela, M. (2016, September 14). Vancouver mayor promises new vacant home tax by 2017 – British Columbia – CBC News. Retrieved November 14, 2016, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-vacant-home-tax-1.3761496
Slattery, J. (2016, November 10). Another vacant home burns down in Vancouver. Retrieved November 13, 2016, from http://globalnews.ca/news/3061455/vancouver-vacant-empty-home-fire-cambie-street/