Taxing vacant housing based on value in Vancouver, Canada

Description

As part of its 10-year housing strategy, the city of Vancouver established an Empty Homes Tax in 2017, applicable to homes vacant for more than six months that were not a principal residence.^[1]

^[1] This is a 1 per cent tax on the assessed value of the property, where unoccupied for more than six months a year.

Actors involved

• City of Vancouver

Results

The tax raised 38 million Canadian dollars (CAD) (roughly EUR 25 million) from one per cent of assessed values in the first year of collection for affordable housing projects in the city. The revenue initially covered set-up and implementation costs; the remainder was ring-fenced for affordable housing initiatives.

Scale

local