Spiritual Hinterland

Under the new rules, homes that are not occupied for at least six months of the year are subject to a tax of one per cent of the property’s assessed value. The deadline to rent out empty dwellings was July 1.

Fazli said many of the people he has talked to are thinking of renting or selling their properties. He recently met with a woman who owns three empty properties in Vancouver — and says one of them is now listed for rent, another will be listed shortly and she is thinking of selling the third.

“This is a scenario of someone who is kind of in a panic now and needs to rent them out,” he said. […]

According to the most recent census data, Vancouver’s percentage of homes that aren’t occupied by usual residents dropped from 8.2 per cent in 2016 (25,502) to seven per cent last year (23,011). That marks the first decline in two decades, and Vancouver’s Empty Homes Tax (EHT) is being credited as a primary influence. Introduced in 2017, Vancouver’s one per cent tax on empty dwellings — properties unoccupied for six months of the year — was implemented to encourage real estate investors to transition their properties to long-term rentals rather than having them sit unused. Although industry experts are divided on how much vacancy taxes contribute to increased housing supply, a report by the City of Vancouver found the number of vacant homes dropped from approximately 2,200 to 1,600 between 2017 and 2020 after the tax was introduced. Meanwhile, Vancouver’s EHT generated $33.6 million in revenue in 2018, $23.3 million in 2019, $27.9 million in 2020, and $20.8 million as of December 2021, helping to fund affordable housing initiatives in the city. After staring out at one per cent, the tax was increased to 1.25 per cent in 2019 and more than doubled to three per cent last year.

So, fuck yeah it helps! Reduced empty homes, they’re raising the tax, AND using it to help fund affordable housing.

Gérard Jan

Cats at the Temple of Philae, Egypt

Michelle Yeoh — Jan. 10th, 2001

Well this fucking changes everything. I feel everyone should know this, especially this bit;

It was initially assumed that Cheddar Man had pale skin and fair hair, but his DNA paints a different picture, strongly suggesting he had blue eyes, a very dark brown to black complexion and dark curly hair.

The Stooges 1970's