The amount of empty units is staggering, but they are not there for you and me, they are there for people to use as investment tool. It's just an asset to flip. It's disgusting, and this type of shit should be banned.

Ban flipping homes, property transfer can't happen for atleast 5 years after transfer unless you appeal to a board as there's always extenuating circumstances. If you own more than 2 properties you are taxed at a obscenely high rate

[+] Jack_Burton@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

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[–] Malfeasant@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Who determines what is "empty" and how?

[+] Jack_Burton@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

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[–] Malfeasant@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yes, but how do you determine that? I'm not trying to be a smartass, but I am going through a divorce, and recently sold the house my wife and I lived in for the past 10 years. I moved out first, then after a couple weeks her lawyer informed mine that the house was vacant, so I shut off the a/c and the ring service to save money until it was ready for sale- then found out she hadn't actually moved out. I don't know if her lawyer just made a mistake, or if she lied to him, but either way they tried to claim that I was being "petty". Then it took her months to move her stuff out. At some point she did move to her mom's, but I don't know exactly when, but when I was cleaning out the refrigerator, I found stuff that had expired around the time I moved out, but that wasn't unusual for her so who tf knows. Point being, it's not always easy for someone to determine whether a property is lived in or not. Then of course you have the situation where someone goes away for say 3-6 months but intends to come back. Maybe it's a one-time thing, maybe it'll be every year, who knows? People will say whatever.