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

A new tax on unsold condominiums was among the promises British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby made Friday in the first week of the snap election he called for Oct. 24.

At a campaign stop in Burnaby, B.C., with a condo complex under construction behind him, Eby said his government would introduce the new tax and hike the existing speculation and vacancy tax to improve housing affordability if his party is re-elected.

Eby said the condo tax would apply on finished units that have been left empty for more than a year.

The leader pointed to what he said was a “damming” report from Real Property Data that estimates thousands of unsold units worth $4.4 billion currently sitting empty across Metro Vancouver.

“They are brand new,” he said. “They are ready for people to move in. They have been built.”

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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, a plan that could unlock about 5,000 condos, Eby said.

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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, he said.

“We will intervene,” he said. “We will stand up for British Columbians, just like we stand up to (U.S. President Donald) Trump, stand up to developers. We will stand up for the families, who are struggling with affordability,” he added.

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Friday’s announcement comes amid ongoing questions about a joint federal-provincial plan to purchase more than 2,220 vacant condominiums in B.C. to convert them into affordable housing.

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When the plan was announced in June alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney, Eby promised additional details in the fall, but that was before this week’s election call.

The New Democrat leader also said his government would increase the existing speculation and vacancy tax to two per cent for domestic owners and to five per cent for foreign owners.

The former NDP government brought in the tax in an effort to turn more vacant homes into housing and to ensure foreign owners or those with foreign income contributed fairly to B.C.’s tax system.

The tax applies to municipalities in Metro Vancouver, the Capital Regional District in Greater Victoria and 26 other municipalities.

When asked about opinion polls that shows his party trailing the Conservatives under their interim leader Lorne Doerkson, Eby said it was early days into the campaign.

“There are going to be a lot of polls.”

Doerkson and his B.C. Conservatives haven’t had an official campaign event since Tuesday, the day of the election call.

A party spokesperson said Doerkson has been doing interviews from his home riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin and was expected to be in the Lower Mainland Friday.