{"id":1320,"date":"2026-05-24T06:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T13:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/24\/should-owners-of-vacant-second-homes-be-heavily-taxed-san-diego-voters-get-to-decide\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T06:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T13:03:14","slug":"should-owners-of-vacant-second-homes-be-heavily-taxed-san-diego-voters-get-to-decide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/24\/should-owners-of-vacant-second-homes-be-heavily-taxed-san-diego-voters-get-to-decide\/","title":{"rendered":"Should owners of vacant second homes be heavily taxed? San Diego voters get to decide"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, vacant homes in large U.S. cities have conjured up images of derelict, abandoned properties in need of loving attention and a full-time resident. In San Diego, a June ballot measure is taking aim at a very different kind of vacant dwelling by proposing to heavily tax second homes \u2014 from the coast to the suburbs \u2014 that all share the same feature: They\u2019re unoccupied for more than half the year.<\/p>

Read more Michael Smolens: San Diego trash fee deal gets everybody off the hook, somewhat<\/a><\/p>\n

Measure A, known formally as the non-primary homes tax, was placed on the ballot by San Diego\u2019s elected leaders as part of what they say is a broader effort to tame the stubborn rise in unaffordable housing by returning as many as 5,100 homes to the rental and for-sale markets. The largest concentration of such homes is in some of San Diego\u2019s priciest neighborhoods \u2014 downtown and La Jolla.<\/p>\n

The highly contentious measure, placed on the ballot in March, quickly triggered a fierce war of words between supporters and foes in what has evolved into a costly campaign. The opposition has easily outspent supporters by a margin of nearly 5 to 1, raising more than $1.3 million, largely funded by both the California and national associations of Realtors. Supporters have contributions totaling over $282,000, with the bulk of their support coming from labor unions.<\/p>\n

Flyers mailed by the opponents blast the tax as \u201cJust Another Failed City Hall Scheme,\u201d while proponents, in their digital messaging, accuse corporations and wealthy investors of \u201choarding 5,100 homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Measure A seeks to impose an initial annual tax of $8,000 on second homes that are deemed to be unoccupied for more than 182 days in a single year. In subsequent years, the tax would rise to $10,000. For corporate-owned housing, there would be an initial surcharge of $4,000 that would increase to $5,000 thereafter. If passed, the measure would go into effect next year, with the first tax bills mailed out in early 2028.<\/p>\n

While the number of homes affected by the proposed tax represents only 1% of the city\u2019s housing inventory, San Diego City Council members argue that in a city where fewer and fewer residents can afford to buy a home \u2014 the median price countywide is $900,000 \u2014 and one-bedroom apartments rent on average for $2,200 a month, any effort to assist struggling residents is worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, whose office authored the tax proposal, said the need for Measure A is irrefutable, and city leaders have an obligation to do whatever they can to address what is admittedly a longstanding and vexing problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing being too expensive in San Diego is the most determinative factor in a person believing whether they have a future in this city,\u201d Elo-Rivera said. \u201cAnd because of that, I think we have a responsibility to do everything we can to slow down increasing housing costs so that San Diegans see a future for themselves here, and it is a fact that relieving pressure on supply has a positive effect on cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s a moral question baked into this as well, and that is, what is our willingness as a community to accept the idea of 5,000 homes sitting empty across the city, when so many people are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and to buy a home when directly below those homes that are sitting empty, people are sleeping on the sidewalks. I just think we\u2019re better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those joining Elo-Rivera in supporting the measure are the San Diego County Democratic Party, the League of Women Voters, and more than 20 labor organizations.<\/p>\n

Critics of the measure, chief among them real estate agents and scores of owners of second homes across the nation, counter that their constitutional property rights are being trampled upon by effectively forcing owners to sell or rent out their homes in the face of a costly tax they can ill afford to pay. Yet another failing, they say, is that the expected revenue generated by the tax \u2014 from $9.2 million to $21.4 million in the first year \u2014\u00a0 isn\u2019t even earmarked for affordable housing. Instead, it will go directly into the city\u2019s general fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to numerous people who have inherited their second homes. One of them is a lady from Japan, and she has a little condo here so she can come a couple of months a year to spend with her family, who live here because she\u2019s not leaving Japan. She\u2019s elderly,\u201d said Karen Van Ness, president of the San Diego Association of Realtors.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cRealtors are the advocates for homeowners and homeownership and private property rights. And I can tell you that we\u2019re not going to sit by and watch the taking of private property or the grabbing of funds that our homeowners have generated by paying taxes, paying mortgages, paying interest, because the city can\u2019t manage their funds, and that\u2019s what this comes down to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will the tax bring more housing?<\/h4>\n

Should Measure A become law, it\u2019s likely that the number of homes subject to the tax would be far fewer than 5,100. That\u2019s the conclusion of the city\u2019s Office of the Independent Budget Analyst, which estimates that 1,541 to 2,826 empty second homes would end up being taxed. That calculation takes into consideration properties that would fall under several exemptions provided for in the measure, as well as those instances where owners opt to sell their properties or convert them to short- and long-term rentals.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

San Diego is hardly alone in hatching a plan to tax unoccupied second homes as a way to address housing affordability while also raising revenue for local coffers. Municipalities and states across the country, from Oakland to Rhode Island, have devised various measures to effectively penalize owners of second homes for not having them occupied by full-time residents.<\/p>\n

Elo-Rivera\u2019s office said Measure A was most closely modeled after Berkeley\u2019s tax, which was approved by voters in 2022 by a nearly 65% margin. Meanwhile, all jurisdictions, including San Diego, are closely watching San Francisco, which was set to begin collecting its voter-approved tax early last year. The city, however, paused the measure after a Superior Court judge struck it down, saying that it violated the U.S. and California constitutions and was preempted by California law.<\/p>\n

Opponents of San Diego\u2019s Measure A have said they\u2019re likely to sue should it prevail. Councilmember Raul Campillo, who was the lone vote in opposing placing the tax on the ballot, says the measure is well-intentioned but believes that San Diego would not be on firm legal ground should it face a lawsuit, despite having had a robust legal team to help draft the measure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to lose in court if the voters pass this, because at its very core is the Ellis Act, which is a state law that says municipalities essentially can\u2019t require that landlords rent out to people,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of these individuals right now who have an extra empty home are not landlords, and we\u2019re making them become landlords if they now have to rent their homes out to long-term tenants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor Swift, lawsuits and quirky exemptions: How empty homes tax works in other cities<\/p><\/blockquote>\n