B.C. housing news — Thousands of brand-new condos sit empty across Metro Vancouver while renters get priced out of the city, and David Eby says he’s done waiting for developers to move them: a new tax on unsold condos could hit empty units at 2% and climb every year they stay on the shelf.
By Maplestime News Desk | Burnaby, B.C. | September 26, 2026
Sources: CityNews Vancouver, KillBait | Last updated: September 26, 2026
Key Takeaways
- David Eby announced a proposed Unsold Condo Tax on Friday at a Burnaby campaign stop ahead of the Oct. 24, 2026 provincial vote.
- The tax starts at 2% on finished units left empty or unsold for more than a year, rising one point for every extra year unsold.
- Eby says the Unsold Condo Tax could unlock roughly 5,000 unsold condos currently sitting empty.
- A Real Property Data report found thousands of unsold units worth $4.4 billion sitting empty across Metro Vancouver.
- The existing speculation and vacancy tax would also rise: 2% for domestic owners, 5% for foreign owners.
Eby Announces Unsold Condo Tax on Campaign Trail
The B.C. NDP leader made the pledge Friday, September 25, 2026, at a campaign stop in Burnaby with a condo construction site behind his podium — the imagery was the message. With the provincial vote set for October 24, 2026, Eby is betting that voters are angrier at empty towers than at new taxes.
“B.C. residents should not have to pay sky-high prices to rent or buy homes, while developers sit on thousands of unfinished units and wait for prices to go up,” Eby said, per CityNews Vancouver.
How the Unsold Condo Tax Would Work
The proposed Unsold Condo Tax targets finished condo units that sit empty or unsold for more than a year. The starting rate is 2%, and it rises by one percentage point for every additional year the unit remains unsold — a ratchet designed to make hoarding inventory steadily more expensive.
According to a Real Property Data report cited by the NDP, thousands of unsold units worth a combined $4.4 billion are sitting empty across Metro Vancouver. Eby argues the tax could push about 5,000 of those units back into the market.
Related: B.C. Snap Election 2026
Vacancy Tax Rises and the 2,220-Unit Deal
The unsold condo tax isn’t the only housing plank. Eby also pledged to raise the existing speculation and vacancy tax to 2% for domestic owners and 5% for foreign owners — up from current levels — applying in Metro Vancouver, the Capital Regional District, and 26 other areas.
Meanwhile, Ottawa and the province have been in ongoing talks to buy more than 2,220 vacant condos for affordable housing. Details of that deal have been delayed by the election call, per KillBait, and the NDP is clearly trying to frame housing as the ballot question before October 24.
Maplestime will provide updates on the B.C. unsold condo tax proposal as announcements are made.
Have a tip about this story? Email [email protected]
Have a correction? Email [email protected]
Will taxing empty condos actually force them onto the market — or just get passed on to buyers? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Canadian struggling with rent.
Enjoying Maplestime? Support independent Canadian journalism — no paywall, no corporate owners.
