Owners of vacant homes in B.C.’s capital could be getting slapped with higher taxes, at least if some Victoria councillors get what they’re calling for.
“What I asked for specifically is the authority to tax vacant homes to be extended to all municipalities, just as it has been done for Vancouver,” Victoria Councillor Jeremy Loveday said.
READ MORE: Vancouver passes tax on empty homes
The idea behind the tax is to make more housing available and to use the revenues for affordable housing initiatives.
“Many people are using the word ‘crisis’ now in terms of talking about housing in our region. We need to start acting like it,” Loveday said.
Census data for 2016 shows Victoria’s empty homes rate is almost as high as Vancouver’s with more than 3,540 homes in B.C.’s capital city unoccupied or underused, or 7.9 per cent of the total number of houses.
In Vancouver, the Census figures show 25,502 unoccupied dwellings, or 8.2 per cent of the total.
“To me it does really highlight the need for us to be looking at taxing vacant and derelict properties as one part of the solution,” Loveday said.
But not everyone thinks the empty homes tax is the best way to go, including Victoria realtor Tony Joe.
“They’re going to sell for maximum dollar and it’s going to do nothing for affordability.”
In an email statement, the province said it is willing to talk about legislative change, adding “local governments seeking amendments to the Community Charter or other core legislation that applies to local governments throughout B.C. would work with the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) as the formal representative body of all local governments in British Columbia.”
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