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(CALIFORNIA GLOBE) – Proposition M, a ballot measure in San Francisco that adds a vacancy tax on multifamily units, reached the threshold to pass on Monday.
Introduced earlier this year by the Democratic Socialists of America and Faith in Action Bay Area, Proposition M, also known as the Empty Homes Tax, will tax property owners who have at least three units that have been vacant for more than six months. The tax amount is dependent on unit size but will be between $2,500 and $5,000 per empty unit for the first two years of vacancy, with up to $10,000 for any at three or more years. The tax will begin starting in January 2024, with the City Controller estimating that 4,000 units would apply to the vacancy tax when started, generating around $9 million in its first year and $15.4 million by 2026 due to many landlords being unwilling to let them out.
The tax money will then go to a housing activation fund to help pay subsidies for elderly and needy residents, as well as buy more buildings in the city for housing. Proponents stressed, however, that tax revenues was not the aim of the Proposition, but to reduce the vacancy rate in the city.
Slow counting delayed the results last week. But with most votes counted on Monday, the tally for Prop. M stood at 137,429, or 54%, to 117,788, or 46%, enough for it to pass.
Proponents celebrated Prop. M’s passage, including backer Supervisor Dean Preston. Preston said on Monday that “With most of the ballots now counted, the Empty Homes Tax has passed with a decisive mandate from San Francisco voters, despite being outspent by a margin of 3 to 1.
