In an attempt to deal with an affordable housing crisis, the Dutch housing minister recently proposed a law that would have allowed municipalities to force some property owners to sell their homes only to low and middle-income earners. The problem the policy is trying to fix is one that’s particularly acute in Canada.
Why not ban anything past a primary home? It’s like at a wedding where everyone gets to eat first before going for seconds.
I guess it’s a political non-starter given the number of people who own more than one home…
There can be some good reasons to own multiple homes, so rather than banning it you tax it. That way people can still do it and the city gets more funding for allowing it. Those that can’t do the tax will sell down.
A grandfather clause could be added, so that ‘from now on’ people can’t buy more than 1 home. But there are plenty of less severe ways to fix the problem. A lack of solutions isn’t the issue, anyway. The problem is that rich people who control countries don’t want to fix housing problems, since they are often the people benefiting.