Austin KlarVanguard Properties · Lawyer Turned Real Estate Agent

San Francisco Empty Home Tax Struck Down in Court

Name: San Francisco Empty Home Tax Struck Down in Court
Uploaded: 2024-12-09T02:00:16+00:00
Duration: 53 s
Channel: Austin Klar
Description: In this YouTube monologue, Austin Klar explains that the voter‑approved 2022 San Francisco vacant‑home tax—backed by roughly 55% of voters and set to…

9 Dec 2024 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:53

In this YouTube monologue, Austin Klar explains that the voter‑approved 2022 San Francisco vacant‑home tax—backed by roughly 55% of voters and set to take effect the following year—has been declared unconstitutional by a city judge. The tax would have charged owners of units vacant for six months or more between $2,500 and $5,000 per unit. After the measure passed, landlords sued, arguing the tax constituted an unlawful taking of property and violated their right to keep property empty. The judge sided with the landlords, halting the tax for now. Klar notes the tax was projected to affect 4,000–7,000 units, provides revenue estimates and a breakdown of vacant unit types, and anticipates an appeal, indicating the issue is not settled. He invites viewers to comment on their views of the vacancy tax.

Chapters

The voter-approved empty homes tax was recently struck down by a San Francisco judge as unconstitutional. The vacant home tax was approved in 2022 by about 55% of voters, and it was scheduled to go into effect next year. And if it had gone into effect, landlords would've been taxed about $2,500 to $5,000 for units that have been vacant for at least 6 months. Unsurprisingly, after the measure passed in 2022, landlords and property owners sued the city of San Francisco, arguing the law was unconstitutional, an unconstitutional taking of their property, and a violation of their right to keep their property empty. And it looks like at least the judge there before agreed. So for now, the vacancy tax is not going effective. The tax was estimated to impact between 4,000 and 7,000 units. You can see the estimated revenue numbers in the charts below and the breakdown of what types of units were vacant. There's almost certainly going to be an appeal over this, so the saga's definitely not over. Let me know what you think about the vacancy tax in the comments. Goodbye.