(Bloomberg) – Vancouver's mayor is considering a tax on empty homes to help boost supply and damp prices in North America's hottest residential market.
Acute housing shortage
Owners need to be prodded to live in the properties they buy or rent them out as the city faces an acute housing shortage, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson told Bloomberg TV Canada in an interview Tuesday.
"We're looking at new regulation and a carrot-and-stick approach to making sure that houses aren't empty in Vancouver," Robertson said, including a tax on vacant homes. "If you're not using your property — either living in it or renting it out — then you have to pay more tax. Because effectively it's a business holding, and should be taxed accordingly."
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