Vancouver empty homes tax to include secondary units that are used for Airbnb
Vancouver’s proposed empty homes tax would include secondary properties being booked on the vacation rental website Airbnb, with the maximum fine for people who evade the levy set at $10,000.
New details of the tax emerged on Tuesday, when council voted to push ahead with public consultations. Mayor Gregor Robertson stressed the aim was to free up supply in the city’s crunched rental housing market.
“Ultimately, the goal is to get thousands of units back into rental housing at a time when it’s almost impossible to find a rental home,” Robertson told council.
The province granted Vancouver the authority to create the tax in July, months after a city-commissioned report found that about 10,800 homes were sitting empty, most of them condos.