A city-wide survey aimed at determining the number of empty homes in Vancouver has found that nearly 8,500 residential properties are unoccupied or underutilized.
On Wednesday, the city said 6,349 out of some 184,000 homeowners who submitted Empty Homes Tax declarations said their property fell into that category.
Another 2,132 did not submit declarations. The city automatically deems those homes vacant.
Downtown Vancouver, the West End and Shaughnessy reported the highest percentage (seven to eight) of empty properties.
In parts of the West Side such as West Point Grey, Dunbar-Southlands, Kerrisdale, Arbutus-Ridge and Oak Ridge, four to six per cent of homes fell into that category.
In most of East Vancouver, only three per cent of homeowners declared their properties empty, with the exception of Strathcona, Mount Pleasant and the Riley Park/Little Mountain area.
More than 60 per cent of empty or underutilized homes were condos, while single-family residential properties accounted for 33.5 per cent. The remainder was categorized as "other."
Combined, the 8,481 homes declared or deemed vacant account for just over 4.5 per cent of the 186,043 residential properties in the city.
That's a far cry from the vacancy rate suggested by the 2016 Census, which found that more than 25,000 homes in the Vancouver were unoccupied or underutilized.
Last year, the city itself said there are at least 10,800 homes unoccupied year-round, and roughly 10,000 more that are considered under-occupied.
Esther Lee, the city's director of financial initiatives, said there is an audit underway to determine the accuracy of the Empty Homes Tax program's results.
She also said there are provisions that could allow the city to charge up to $10,000 per day to those who have been providing false information.
Some critics, however, are disappointed that the city isn't providing a breakdown of the 8,500 vacant homes that would help determine how many are condos that have to be kept empty due to strata restrictions, how many are second homes and how many are large mansions that belong to owners who can afford to simply pay the tax.
"I think that information is important as you not only develop housing policy—I think it's important for the province to pay attention to as it's about to impose a speculation tax that, to a certain degree, mimics the city's Empty Homes Tax," said architect and property developer Michael Geller.
The empty homes declarations were part of a plan to add desperately-needed units to the city's housing supply.
“Vancouver housing needs to be for homes first, not just treated as a commodity,” Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a statement. “We brought in an Empty Homes Tax because Vancouver has a near-zero vacancy rate and many people are struggling to find a place to rent.”
Homeowners in Vancouver were first given until Feb. 2 to divulge whether their property is their primary residence, a secondary residence, is rented out to tenants or is empty.
The city extended the deadline to March 5 to give property owners more time to respond.
On Wednesday, the city said nearly 99 per cent of homeowners (183,911 out of 186,043) had submitted declarations. More than 177,500 said their property was their primary residence or was tenanted.
"We're extremely pleased with the result. That was a high participation rate—better than we expected," Lee said.
Certain exemptions to the Empty Homes Tax exist for people who live in Vancouver part-time because of work, those who had to leave their home empty to seek medical care or those who live in condos where strata bylaws prohibit rentals.
According to Geller, however, the tax might help provide a sense of justice for those struggling to find a place to live, but the initiative is unlikely to have a significant impact on Vancouver's housing stock.
"The city is going to collect some revenue—there's no doubt about that—but we won't see the tens of thousands of rental units that many were hoping would come onto the market as a result of this tax," he said.
"So many of the homes are legitimately occupied as second homes, and yes, these are fortunate people, but I thought it was wrong to punish them with this excessive tax."
Those who didn't submit their declaration by Monday could face a one-per-cent Empty Homes Tax on the assessed value of their property. There is also a $250 non-declaration penalty.
Homeowners whose properties were declared or deemed vacant will be have to pay a bill by April 16.
Those who feel they have been mistakenly taxed will have a month to file an appeal with the city's Vacancy Tax Review Officer.
"We did a lot of advertising and communications, but some people have probably simply forgotten," Lee said. "They have an opportunity, if they simply forgot, to go through our complaint process."
The city said it will report the amount of money collected through the tax in the fall.
With files from CTV Vancouver's David Molko
