Despite Double-Digit Victory Margin, San Francisco Empty Homes Tax Challenged by Real Estate Lobbying Groups
SAN FRANCISCO — In an effort to invalidate a broadly-popular ballot measure to tax empty homes, a group of real estate lobbying organizations filed a lawsuit today in San Francisco Superior Court.
“San Francisco voters delivered a clear mandate that it is completely unacceptable to have tens of thousands of vacant homes as more than 4,000 people are living on our streets” said Supervisor Dean Preston. “It is disappointing but not surprising that real estate lobbying groups have filed suit to stop this important policy reform.”
The Empty Homes Tax, Proposition M on the November 2022 ballot, was carried by an extensive organizing effort from the Democratic Socialists of America - San Francisco chapter, Faith in Action Bay Area, TODCO and Supervisor Dean Preston. The measure was outspent by a margin of 3 to 1, but won with a commanding 55%-45% margin, making San Francisco the third city in the country to pass a residential vacancy tax.
The proposed law will tax owners of buildings of three units or more, where a residential unit has been vacant for more than six months in a given year. The tax rate is higher for larger units, and it increases the longer a home is kept vacant. It is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024.
The lawsuit filed today in San Francisco Superior Court argues that the Empty Homes Tax violates constitutional rights of property owners. A similar argument was made against law written by Supervisor Preston to ban evictions during the pandemic, in a lawsuit filed by the same groups – the San Francisco Apartment Association, the SF Association of Realtors, and the Small Property Owners of San Francisco. In August 2020, a Superior Court judge rejected their arguments and upheld Preston’s anti-eviction law.
“From rent control, to eviction bans, to a vacancy tax, these real estate lobbyists have a great sense of entitlement when it comes to broadly-popular and essential reforms, and they regularly file frivolous lawsuits to invalidate the will of the people,” Preston said. “Fortunately, they usually lose, which we expect will be the case with the Empty Homes Tax.”
The city’s latest point-in-time count shows 4,397 unsheltered homeless people living on the streets. The latest city data shows 61,473 empty homes in San Francisco. “It is devastating to realize that for every person sleeping on the streets tonight, there are 14 vacant homes in our City,” Preston said.
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