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Vancouver’s vacancy tax will increase from 1% to 3% starting in 2021.
Mayor Kennedy Stewart said tripling the tax will help make more housing available for long-term tenants.
“We’re sending an even stronger message that homes are for people, not speculation,” he said in a statement.
The Vancouver Empty Homes Tax came into effect in 2018 amid a housing crisis and low vacancy rates, with the aim of motivating owners of empty and underutilized properties to put them on the rental market.
Owners are taxed based on the appraised value of a home that is not their primary residence or is not rented for at least six months of the year.
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the tax, combined with other market forces, helped propel 5,000 condos into the rental market in 2019, including 3,000 in downtown Vancouver.
The city of Vancouver says that since its inception, the tax has helped reduce the number of empty homes in the city by 25%.
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