SAFE AS HOUSES?: Valencian government to tax large property owners for empty homes

THIS year sees the introduction of a new tax on empty properties held by large owners in the Valencia region.

According to the Generalitat, the charge will be levied on proprietors with more than 10 houses to their name, and is part of a series of new measures to raise income based on proportionality – the more you have, the more you pay.

However, the regional department of Housing has not yet quantified the number of houses currently standing empty in the Valencian Community, and thus cannot yet specify how many people will be obliged to pay the tax.  

The last published figures for empty properties throughout the Valencia region date back to 2011, when they numbered 515,000.

With the new statistics due to be updated this year, analysts believe the figure could be much higher.

Sources close to the Generalitat have revealed that the government decree should be ready within the first few months of 2021, with a register of properties to be drawn up throughout the year.

The tax would then be introduced in 2022.

According to the Generalitat, the charge will not be aimed at second homes until they have been empty for four years or more, properties reserved for tourist use, or those pending inheritance or judicial resolutions.

The regional executive hopes to raise an estimated €17.5 million through the new tax.

Another of the key points of the new budget is a planned increase of fiscal deductions for vulnerable collectives, such as victims of gender violence, young and unemployed citizens, and people with disabilities.