Vancouver’s Vacant-Homes Tax Doesn’t Improve Housing Affordability: Study

A vacant-homes tax may boost housing availability but it hasn’t improved affordability, says a new study on the policy’s impact in Vancouver. The C.D. Howe Institute study looked at how Vancouver’s Empty Homes Tax has affected the housing crisis since 2017. The tax was introduced amid concerns about high rents, expensive homes, and homelessness happening at the same time as homes were sitting empty, according to the study. The Vancouver city council reported a decrease in the number of vacant homes after introducing the tax. In 2017, nearly 2,200 properties were identified as vacant, with the number dropping to about 1,100 by 2022....