Vancouver's mayor is pressuring the B.C. government to tax empty homes, telling the province he's ready to go it alone if it doesn't act on a rental vacancy rate that is near zero.
Robertson wants to give the province a deadline of Aug. 1 to join the city on a vacancy tax, which must still be approved by council.
Robertson says Vancouver is facing an urgent affordability crisis that could be partially alleviated by taxing the owners of more than 10,000 empty homes who have purchased properties as investments in the city's sizzling market.
If the province doesn't come on board, he says the city will establish a business tax on empty homes.
Robertson says the city has spoken to Premier Christy Clark and Housing Minister Rich Coleman, but the province has not yet taken any action.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver recently said the benchmark price in May for detached houses increased to more than $1.5 million, a nearly 37 per cent jump from a year earlier.
