A Guelph, Ont., community group is proposing a vacant homes tax in the Royal City.
Get Involved Guelph plans to table a petition at the next city council meeting on Dec 10.
The group wants to optimize vacant homes in an attempt to help solve the city’s housing crisis.
Stan Kozak, a member of the group, said it’s the “low-hanging fruit” for the local housing issue.
“When I’m out there, I certainly notice six or eight vacant homes on my route, some of them going back decades,” Kozak said.
He said the number of vacant homes is not good for a lot of reasons.
In a statement on their website, the group is calling for council to implement the tax on single-family and multi-residential homes for over six months.
By optimizing existing homes, the group said it’ll reduce sprawl and help a compact city. The tax would also allow for more housing and have less impact on the environment.
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Kozak said the tax isn’t anything new. Multiple cities in Ontario, including Toronto, Hamilton and Sault. Ste. Marie, have applied it for the last three or four years.
With the prices of homes going up and the price of rent increasing, he said this is a relatively easy solution.
“There’s lot of talk about addressing housing, but it’s all long-term. There’s not a lot that’s going to make a difference in a relatively short term,” he said.
By implementing the tax, he said the group is trying to prevent the need for further taxes.
“If the city was to get the infrastructure for 10 new homes, or 10 new residences, we would expect a cost of just short of $1 million,” he said.
Kozak is asking the community to get involved as well.
People are encouraged to sign the petition and submit a photo of a vacant home in their neighborhood on their website.
He is hopeful that council will give the idea some serious consideration.
“Vacant homes exist in Guelph. And although we have had some that have been sitting there for decades, explaining or conveying the extent of the problem, I think, is going to have an impact.”
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