Vancouver city council passes one per cent tax on empty homes
Vancouver has voted to implement a one per cent tax on empty homes in a bid to alleviate the city’s crunched rental housing market.
The tax, which is the first of its kind in Canada, will apply to non-principal residences that are left empty for six months of the year or longer.
Home owners will be required to self-declare whether their property is vacant and could be subject to fines up to $10,000 for false reports.
Properties under renovation, owners who are in hospital and condos with strata rental restrictions will all be exempt from the tax.