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

Vancouver’s Vacant-Homes Tax Doesn’t Improve Housing Affordability: Study
Condos and apartment buildings in downtown Vancouver on Feb. 2, 2017. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
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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.