Single-family homes excluded from proposed SF vacancy tax

A proposed vacancy tax in San Francisco, where about 10 percent of its housing stock stands vacant, is coming under fire because it omits single-family homes.

The ballot measure, led by Democratic Socialist Supervisor Dean Preston, exempts single-families and duplexes from the 40,000 empty houses, the San Francisco Examiner said. The plan aims to provide funds for homeless programs and also encourage owners to rent out empty housing.

While vacancies are sprinkled throughout the city, they’re also in areas “characterized by single family homes, said Sarah Karlinsky, a housing policy analyst at Spur, a group that hasn’t taken a position on the measure. “Why would you exempt Pacific Heights from a vacancy tax?”

To get the referendum on the ballot, supporters must gather 9,000 valid signatures by July 11. The tax would be based on unit size and duration of vacancy, with the smallest receiving a $2,500 bill for the first year of vacancy and the largest getting a bill double that size. By the third year of vacancy those bills would jump to as much as $20,000.

The tax is expected to generate $38 million a year and bring 4,500 units back onto the market.

Preston responded to a question about whether single-families were left off in order to bolster the measure’s chance of success by saying, “It’s certainly no secret that the real estate industry will use single family homeowners… to try to beat back taxes they oppose.”

If it’s approved, San Francisco would join Oakland and Vancouver, Canada. In Vancouver, the tax generated about $21 million in 2019, although vacancy rates have leveled off as rents rise. While Oakland collected $7 million in tax revenue in 2020, rents are surging there too. Oakland’s tax also carries several exemptions.

The true vacancy rate for San Francisco might also be lower. The 2020 decennial census showed almost 34,800 empty units in San Francisco County as of April, meaning the rate would be closer to 8.6 percent.

“A good vacancy tax can help move some units onto the market that might not otherwise have been, or at least generate funding for affordable housing,” Karlinsky said.

[San Francisco Examiner] — Gabriel Poblete

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