Advocates File Empty Homes Tax, Estimated to Activate 5,000 Homes in First Two Years

SAN FRANCISCO — Supervisor Dean Preston, the Democratic Socialists of America San Francisco Chapter, and Faith in Action Bay Area announced the filing of an “Empty Homes Tax” ballot measure today. If passed, the law is estimated to bring 5,000 housing units online in the first two years, and raise more than $38 million annually for homelessness prevention and affordable housing.

“In a city with a chronic shortage of affordable housing, and more than 8,000 people living on our streets, it is unconscionable that we have tens of thousands of homes sitting empty,” said Supervisor Preston. “The Empty Homes Tax will incentivize property owners to do the right thing and turn vacant units into places San Franciscans can call home.”

Nearly one out of every ten residential units in San Francisco – more than 40,000 homes – are unoccupied, according to a Budget and Legislative Analyst report published last week. The number of vacant homes has increased by 20 percent since 2015.

The ballot measure will apply a tax to 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.

The measure includes a range of exemptions for good faith vacancies, while applying the tax on units purposefully kept off the market. Single family homes and two unit buildings are exempt, as are properties under a lease or primary residences. Additional time to fill a vacant unit is provided where there is construction or repair, the death of an owner, or a natural disaster.

The tax is modeled after a residential vacancy tax passed in Vancouver in 2016, which is credited with bringing more than 18,000 units online since it went into effect. If San Francisco were to adopt a tax based on the Vancouver model, the city could see an activation of 4,560 units within two years, the equivalent of approximately 90 percent or more of the average annual number of new housing units added in San Francisco over the last five years, according to the BLA report.

"DSA San Francisco is excited to support the Empty Homes Tax that Supervisor Preston is putting forward," says Matthew McGowen, a member of the DSA SF Electoral Board. "The BLA report on vacancies exposes everything wrong with the capitalist housing market: tens of thousands of homes sit empty while thousands live on our streets without permanent shelter and the cost of rent drives working people out of the city. We are ready to fight back against greed and speculation in our housing market, and work towards a city and a world where peoples’ needs come before profit.”

Revenue from the measure is dedicated to homelessness prevention and the acquisition of vacant units. Half of the funds will be allocated to rental subsidies for seniors and low-income families, a key strategy in preventing homelessness. The other half will be dedicated to a new program for the city to acquire vacant buildings, and convert them into permanently affordable housing.

“We've talked to thousands of immigrant seniors and families who can't afford the rent and live in overcrowded housing,” said Brenda Cordoba, leader with Faith in Action Bay Area. “It’s time for San Francisco to shed its indifference to the seniors and families who’ve built this city. This tax will encourage landlords to rent out their vacant apartments to people who need them and provide rent subsidies to keep vulnerable people in their homes."

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