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San Francisco recently did a similar thing but with commercial storefronts: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Vacancy-glut-in... .
It's kinda easy to make it look like a building is occupied and avoid the fine. It's kinda hard for authorities to prove otherwise.
It's hard to off-shore property in a tax haven too.
It's one of those policies that is popular with virtually everyone right until the moment they get into power and meet the wealthy landowners/donors.
How about letting people build more and taller buildings? How about that, huh?
FTA "The problems the fines are intended to combat began in 2007, when the financial crisis brought an epidemic of foreclosures on homes across Spain. After a nationwide wave of repossessions, banks found themselves the owners of newly vast portfolios of housing whose tenants had been evicted. Put off by the cost of renovations and wary of their potential obligations to rental tenants as landlords, many banks simply…
Why is it a fine? Why not a tax? Taxing unused spaces sitting idle makes a lot more sense than income (ie: people’s work).
Much easier to beg for votes saying we "fined these evil landlords" instead of saying increasing taxes on empty buildings. I think there will be many fires in Barcelona this year.
I fear it won’t be big enough so they didn’t say it, but I don’t know Spanish culture.
It's kinda easy to make it look like a building is occupied and avoid the fine. It's kinda hard for authorities to prove otherwise.
You're right, Land Value Tax (LVT) would be much better, as other European cities use. It's hard to off-shore property in a tax haven too. It's one of those policies that is popular with virtually everyone right until the moment they get into power and meet the wealthy landowners/donors.
Does anyone know why is it that seemingly every major city is having an affordability crisis at the same time?
People should be able to do whatever they want with their properties
Cities are (necessarily) very tightly regulated, because when people and property are packed in so tightly together the possibilities for negative externalities are severe. It's important to optimize the very limited space in a way that maximizes its good for as many people as possible.
You have a lot more leeway to do whatever you want way out in the country if that's what you're looking for, but you should never expect that in a dense city, because you won't find it anywhere.
Does anyone know why is it that seemingly every major city is having an affordability crisis at the same time?
Classic example of massive misallocation of resources.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Governments have registries of where people live.
Which is actually the enabler here: just register a friend or relative as living in your apartment, and you're done. And of course, you're doing that as a favor, so you're not charging them any rent that might be a subject to taxation.
Utility bills for example. Is the electricity utilization random enough or a little too constant? What about water? Natural gas? Pay the garbage collectors to rat out homes that never leave anything out.
Are the windows always left open even on the hottest days and no A/C?
Is the keyfob for entry never used?
Ultimately, every tax can be evaded. Income, sales, corporate. This one won’t be any different.
I do wonder who might rat out their completely quiet neighbour though.