B.C.’s Eby says NDP would tax new, unsold condos, raise speculation, vacancy fees

VICTORIA — British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby says his government would introduce a new tax on unsold condominiums and hike the existing speculation and vacancy tax to improve housing affordability if his party is re-elected on Oct. 24.

At a campaign stop in Burnaby, B.C., with a condo complex under construction behind him, Eby says the new tax would apply on finished units that have been left empty for more than a year.

The tax would have a starting rate of two per cent and increase by one per cent for each additional year the units remained unsold, and Eby says the plan could unlock about 5,000 condos.

He says B.C. residents should not have to pay sky-high prices to rent or buy homes, while developers sit on thousands of unfinished units and wait for prices to go up.