A coalition of property owners and real estate groups has convinced a Superior Court judge to strike down a residential vacancy tax approved by San Francisco voters in a 2022 ballot measure.
Judge Charles Haines issued a summary judgement order on Thursday in favor of plaintiffs who challenged what is known as the Empty Homes Tax, including the San Francisco Apartment Association and the San Francisco Association of Realtors as well as individual property owners, the San Francisco Business Times reported.
The Empty Homes Tax imposes annual taxes—starting at $2,500 to $5,000 per vacant unit and escalating to as much as $20,000 annually for larger properties—on residential units left vacant for more than 182 days in buildings with three or more units. Under the measure, the tax rate is higher for larger units and increases the longer a home is vacant.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
