Province supports Vancouver vacant homes tax

The B.C. Legislature will reconvene on Monday, July 25 with the purpose of passing legislation to allow Vancouver to put a tax on vacant homes.

B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong was at Canada Place Monday morning to announce the next steps the province is taking to address affordable housing and real estate regulation.

The legislation will provide statutory authority for the City of Vancouver to charge a vacant homes tax.

But the time needed to put the legislation into effect will likely take until 2018, at least a year later than when the City of Vancouver had proposed.

De Jong said the City’s deadline poses “some real challenges” but the province is committed to the idea, largely in order to increase Vancouver’s rental supply. The tax is being considered as an incentives for homeowners to rent out their unused properties.

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The City of Vancouver announced they were considering a vacant homes tax in June, giving the province until Aug. 1 to respond with their next steps.

How much the tax will be, and how vacant homes will be identified, have not yet been announced.

David Eby, the NDP MLA for Point Grey and party housing critic, says his government has been pushing the B.C. Liberals for two years for action on housing affordability and is frustrated that today’s announcement is not enough.

“It’s such an empty announcement. It’s such a ‘least we can do’ announcement.”

Eby suggests that the province is now making the City of Vancouver do its work for them. He also points out that this tax won’t benefit anyone struggling with affordability outside the City.

“Maybe this is a provincial issue? How is the City of Vancouver going to address issues in Burnaby, in Richmond, in Surrey, in Maple Ridge, in the south of Vancouver Island?”

“If this is action from the provincial government, then we’ve got a long way to go,” he added.

WATCH:’They’re refusing to take action, but pretending that they are’: David Eby

3:53 ‘They’re refusing to take action, but pretending that they are’: Eby

Echoing all those concerned with the impact of foreign investment in Vancouver real estate, Eby says that is where the provincial government’s focus should be set.

“The first step, all the senior economists say, is to get the international speculation of our housing market under control, not just vacant condos in Vancouver.”

A May 2016 survey through the City’s Talk Housing platform – with more than 15,000 respondents – found that 91 per cent of residents agreed that the number of empty homes in Vancouver is a problem, and 88 per cent agreed that the city should advocate for senior government action to reduce the number of empty homes in Vancouver.

WATCH: Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson on vacant home tax

5:09 Presser: Vancouver mayor confirms city will pursue empty home tax

With files from Amy Judd