An agency that advocates for low-income Londoners is urging city council to use a vacancy tax on empty homes as one element of a larger affordable housing strategy.
LifeSpin wrote to city councilors ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, when council is expected to approve or reject the motion to hire a consultant to study a vacant home strategy, possibly including a tax, for London.
Jacqueline Thompson, LifeSpin’s executive director, sent photos of 24 vacant homes in various stages of disrepair, the same two dozen the agency had warned about more than a year ago.
“Why are they sitting there vacant and dangerous?” she said.
“These properties are using a lot of money that taxpayers are paying to maintain them festering in our neighborhoods.”
City staff recommended against implementing a one per cent vacancy tax in London, after council directed them to report back on the idea last year. Staff said the cost to implement such a tax, a price tag they suggested would be $2.1 million each year, would outweigh the revenues.
Those were estimated at $2 million annually, and that didn’t include millions in startup costs.
Staff said only 62 vacant properties are known to city staff based on complaints – LifeSpin previously has highlighted more than 50 – but the city could have more than 700 empty homes if London’s vacancy rate is similar to other cities.
The corporate services committee voted 4-2 to recommend hiring a consultant to study not just a tax, but other options to target vacant homes as part of a larger strategy. Council will decide whether to proceed on Tuesday.
Still, Thompson said councilors desperately need not just a new tax, but a broader strategy – an affordable housing plan, as promised years ago – with regular updates so they clearly can see the needs, the progress, and make decisions accordingly.
“They talk about the tools, but they still haven’t built the toolbox to put them it. There’s all these tools laying around. They get picked up and used once in a while. . . but there’s no strategy,” Thompson said.
“We have a very clear understanding that there’s systemic issues and it’s getting worse. This is not a surprise. We’ve been saying that for years, and now, here it is.”
Council last year endorsed the “roadmap to 3,000,” a five-year plan to create 3,000 affordable housing units through construction, subsidies and private sector help.
Ward 2 Coun. Shawn Lewis, who chairs the corporate services committee, said council is using as many other avenues as possible to address London’s housing crisis. He said he doesn’t want to wait for a larger blueprint to tackle it.
“WI need to be taking action on this every day, as best we can. When we have a hammer and nails available, we can’t wait for the drill to arrive on backorder from the federal government,” Lewis said.
“If we waited to get one whole visionary strategy in place, by the time we got it finished, it would be obsolete,” he said.
Lewis and Thompson agree a vacancy tax is a good available tool, and one option to get existing vacant housing back for Londoners.
It’s a way to discourage owners from letting housing fall into disrepair – like the sites highlighted by LifeSpin – or keeping residential properties empty while the value of the land rises, Lewis said.
A higher vacancy tax, such as 1.25 per cent, could be used to offset staff costs, Thompson said. She also pointed to police and fire department resources that are needed now to keep tabs on dilapidated, vacant houses that could otherwise provide shelter.
Several vacant homes have had fires during the last several years.
“It wouldn’t be an issue if they’re looking after the properties,” Thompson said, saying many owners don’t comply even with existing rules about maintaining vacant buildings or even closing them up to keep out intruders or children.
“Somewhere, somebody along the line got away with slapping up plywood and now they all do it,” she said.