Vancouver expects to collect $38 million from vacancy tax in first year

VANCOUVER – The City of Vancouver says it has collected $21 million in the first full year of its empty homes tax and another $17 million could still flow into its coffers.

The city says in a news release that it expects to generate about $38 million from the first year of the tax which is applied to vacant residential properties in a bid to ease Vancouver’s one per cent vacancy rate.

The city says there just over 186,000 residential properties declared and 2,538 of those were vacant.

It says the declaration period for the second year of the tax is open with a deadline of Feb. 4.

City staff will continue to monitor the impact of the tax on housing supply and affordability, and the release says revenue generated by the tax will be used for affordable housing initiatives in Vancouver.

The city says $8 million raised by the tax last year has already been earmarked for specific affordable housing initiatives.