- A Flipping Tax will be introduced that will apply on the sale of a residential property. The tax rate goes down to zero the longer the property is held. The tax will be highest for those who hold properties for the shortest period of time, and phases out after two years
- Using the Cullen Commission recommendation to create a new enforcement tool will allow investigations into suspicious real estate transactions
- Homebuilders in major urban centers will be allowed to replace a single family home with up to three units on the same footprint
- The 19+ age restrictions in some stratas will be abolished so that young families don’t have to move out if they have a child. But “Seniors only” restrictions will remain in place
VANCOUVER – NDP leadership candidate David Eby has announced a plan to respond to BC’s housing crisis that is comprehensive and constructive. It is the first major policy announcement in his campaign to lead the BC NDP. His plan includes a suite of measures to build and support homes people can afford, right across the province.
David Eby said. “Today, I’m launching a new plan that will substantially increase the amount of housing being built, and level the playing field by chasing out real estate speculators and tax cheats, so everyone in B.C. can have a good home.”
To build new homes, a new initiative called BC Builds will use partnerships, as well as the province’s legal powers, financing ability, and public land, to fast-track the construction of affordable, middle-class housing in rural towns and urban cities. BC Builds will include a special focus on Indigenous Housing, both on and off reserve.
Eby said that as Premier, he will remove barriers and bureaucratic hurdles that impede housing from coming onto the market. Under this hhomebuilders in major urban centers will be allowed to replace a single family home with up to three units on the same footprint, as long as they are consistent with existing setbacks and height requirements. The Province will engage cities to ensure infrastructure can support this initiative. He said, secondary suites will be made legal in every region of the province.
According to the proposed plan strata restrictions on rentals will be removed, and stratas will be given the ability to appear easily at the Residential Tenancy Branch to address any health, safety or quality of life 4 issues caused by tenant behaviour that are not addressed by the unit owner, at the cost of the unit owner
At the same time, Eby will open up public land to build housing people can afford.
To secure housing and ensure fairness, a new Rental Housing Acquisition Fund will deploy $500 million in capital support to partner with First Nations, non-profits, and co-ops to buy and protect at-risk affordable rental housing and discourage speculation by investors.
This will be paired with new tools to crack down on speculators, seize the proceeds of crime when they flow into real estate, close loopholes, and freeze short-term profit making through a new flipping tax.
Big and small investors alike are using the housing shortage to make excessive profits through short-term flipping. Rapid home flipping – the process of buying a house and selling it within a short period for much more than what was originally paid – has spurred speculative demand and excessive price growth, making homes more expensive for regular British Columbians. “We want investments in long-term rental housing, but we don’t want British Columbians competing in the resale market with flippers, so we’ll use the data collected on real estate sales and returns to construct a Flipping Tax to discourage this activity,” he said.
A Flipping Tax will apply on the sale of a residential property. The tax rate goes down to zero the longer the property is held. The tax will be highest for those who hold properties for the shortest period of time, and phases out after two years.
“As homes should be for people and families to live in, not for speculators to profit from, the tax will include exemptions for life circumstances due to, for example, death, employment loss, divorce, or disability. Builders will also be exempted to encourage housing construction,” he said.
Large corporations and wealthy investors are using loopholes to avoid paying their fair share. All of this drives up housing costs for everyday people. In order to deal with frauds and criminals Eby’s housing plan proposes using the Cullen Commission recommendation to create a new enforcement tool will allow investigations into suspicious real estate transactions.
Purchasers suspected of organized crime will be forced to explain how they got the money to buy properties, and properties that are purchased with the proceeds of crime will be seized to fund public programs.
The beneficial ownership registry will be strengthened to ensure identity-verification.
A new dedicated provincial tax enforcement team will shift our reliance away from Ottawa to identify people who declare poverty-level incomes but buy multi-million dollar homes for further tax review.
“The only thing worse than doing nothing is to retreat from the gains we’ve made and trust market driven investors will do the right thing,” Eby said. “We will close loopholes that enable billionaires and big corporations to avoid taxes, gaps such as the use of ‘bare trusts’.
