WATCH: Eby vows to hit developers with 2% 'empty condo tax' if units left unsold for over a year

BC NDP leader David Eby has announced that, if re-elected, his government would implement an "Unsold Condo Tax" on units left unsold for more than a year.

If a home is still on the market after 365 days, developers would have to pay a 2% tax — with that amount increasing by 1% for each additional year it remains vacant.

During a press conference in Burnaby on Friday, Eby also revealed that a BC NDP government would increase the speculation and vacancy tax from 1% to 2% for domestic speculators and from 4% to 5% for internationals.

Eby expressed hope that such a tax would "encourage more people to sell those vacant condos, those vacant homes that they are still holding even though people are looking for a place to live."

"They're going to pay more tax for the privilege of hoarding housing," he declared.

Eby then turned his attention to developers, citing a 2025 report from Real Property Data that found that a handful of corporations in Metro Vancouver are sitting on 5,000 brand new vacant units, some of which are over two years old.

He cautioned against seeing the move as a "war against developers," describing his plan as "the terms of peace."

"Just 10 developers have over $2 billion of condos that they refuse to sell at a reasonable price," Eby said. "You will sell those condos, or you will pay the tax. It's very straightforward."

‘If we don’t do it, someone else will’: Eby, Carney defend plan to purchase unsold condos

They both justified the move, and argued that it does not equate to a “bailout” of developers, as some have suggested.

Sitka MediaJarryd Jäger

Earlier this year, Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney faced significant backlash over their plan to buy unsold condos from developers at discounted rates.

CBC's Katie DeRosa confirmed that Eby "has not backed away" from what had become known as the "condo bailout" program.