A new hike in school taxes for homes valued at over $3 million could harm renters and housing affordability throughout the province, the Canadian Mortgage Brokers of British Columbia warned on Monday. CMBA-BC is also having a conference related to this and a trade show at the River Rock Casino in Richmond today and tomorrow.
“Many residential properties are valued at more than three million dollars and supply much-needed rental stock,” said CMBA-BC Chief Executive Officer Samantha Gale in a press release. “There will be a cascading effect as increased housing costs are downloaded to both buyers and tenants.”
School taxes are annual taxes charged to property owners by the city to fund education. The tax hike is a part of the B.C. government’s 30-point housing plan. For residential properties valued between $3 and $4 million, the rate will be 0.2 per cent, while the rate is doubled for properties valued more than $4 million.
Properties affected by the hike include single-family homes containing rental units such as basement suites, homes shared by multiple tenants and boarders along with residential apartment buildings.
Gale gave an example of an expensive West side Vancouver lot valued at $6 million with a tax increase of $830 per month.
“The owner is not in a position to absorb this cost and will now be faced with a decision to either sell the property or pass costs onto the tenants. A new buyer would likely evict the tenants and construct new housing on this lot, thereby removing two units from the rental pool,” she said.
“There are a vast number of properties valued at over $3 million which supply much needed rental housing to BC residents,” Gale added.
