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San Francisco landlords, property owners sue to block voter-approved vacancy tax
February 12, 2023/
A consortium of San Francisco landlords and property owners filed a lawsuit this week challenging the city’s new tax on vacant residences as unconstitutional and a violation of state law.
Proposition M, “The Empty Homes Tax,” passed by 54.5% of voters in November, imposes a tax on property owners for each unit left vacant for more than 182 days in a given year, starting in 2024. It applies only to buildings with three or more units, not to single-family homes or duplexes.
The taxes start at $2,500 for units smaller than 1,000 square feet and go up to $5,000 for units over 2,000 square feet. They escalate over each subsequent year a unit is vacant, and later are adjusted according to the Consumer Price Index.
