The empty homes tax: A promising step on affordable housing—if we get it right
The idea is simple: Tax homes sitting vacant at an annual 3 percent rate of their assessed value.
This tax could encourage some owners to fill their vacant homes to avoid paying the tax. Other owners that choose to pay the tax instead would contribute an estimated $183.4 million annually toward new affordable housing initiatives.
This policy has the potential to bring much-needed assistance to a housing market that’s become out of reach for many. More than six in 10 renters in Honolulu are now cost burdened, spending at least 30 percent of their income on housing costs. In 2023, only 20 percent of local households could afford a mortgage on the median-priced single-family home.
But will this proposal actually deliver?
Leading up to Thursday’s hearing, four competing drafts have been introduced by various council members. Currently, advocates are concerned about the following proposed amendments:
Reducing revenue allocations for affordable housing initiatives from from 50% to 20%, without mechanisms to ensure proper use, opening the door for diversion of funds to non-housing purposes.
Excessive and broad exemptions that reduce the tax base for revenue generation and enable indefinite evasion of the tax to properties that remain vacant or underutilized.
Removal of specified tax rates that risk failing to generate enough revenue for the policy to be effective.
Regressive tax features that cap the tax at a flat rate instead of accounting for a percentage of the assessed value, disproportionately benefiting wealthier property owners and undermining the deterrent effect of the tax.
Implementation changes that risk indefinite delays, weaken accountability, and significantly undermine enforcement.
This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a well-intentioned bill chipped away until it’s ineffective. Some compromise is necessary in a democracy, but not at the expense of the intent of the proposal itself.
If we weaken the bill to placate special interests, we’ll end up with nothing but another headline touting change without real results. The community deserves better.
