When New York's pied-à-terre surcharge took effect on July 1, 2026, the reaction in some quarters was that the city had done something radical. It hadn't. A recurring annual tax on second and empty homes is now closer to a global norm among expensive, supply-constrained cities. What makes New York's version bite harder than most is a design choice — it is levied on market value, not the low assessed figure other cities often use. To understand where this goes, it helps to look at the places that got there first.
London: the closest cousin, brand new
England is the most direct parallel. From April 2025, councils can add a second-home premium of up to 100% — doubling the council-tax bill on a furnished second home. Adoption was immediate and near-universal: roughly 211 of 296 billing authorities switched it on for 2025-26, with more following in 2026 — about 84% of England. On top of that sits an empty-homes premium that climbs to +200% after five years and +300% after ten, and, for homes held inside a corporate "envelope," the long-running Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (£4,400 to £287,600 a year depending on value). England's package is essentially a British pied-à-terre tax — too new for hard outcome data, but its speed of adoption signals political durability.
Vancouver: proof the model can work
If London is the newest example, Vancouver is the most instructive. Its Empty Homes Tax, in force since 2017 and now 3% of assessed value, produced the strongest evidence anywhere that a holding tax changes behavior. Declared vacant homes fell below 1,000 for the first time in 2024 — a record-low 0.49% vacancy, down roughly 67% since 2017 — while adding about 1,000 tenanted homes year-over-year and raising some CA$194 million for affordable housing. The province's parallel Speculation and Vacancy Tax raised hundreds of millions more, though a 2026 audit flagged a serious enforcement backlog. The lesson for New York: a recurring tax on non-primary homes can genuinely push units back into use — but collection is where these programs live or die.
Paris: the European precedent
Paris has charged the maximum 60% surcharge on second homes since 2017, layered on the residence tax it kept for non-primary properties even after France abolished it for primary homes. The city projected tens of millions in additional revenue from tripling the surcharge, and nationally, second-home tax receipts rose as more municipalities adopted it. It is revenue-positive and politically settled — if not obviously a cure for the underlying second-home share, which kept climbing.
Toronto: the cautionary tale
Toronto shows the downside. Its Vacant Home Tax — 1% initially, hiked to 3% for 2024 — was rolled out so poorly that the city fielded 169,149 complaints and reversed 165,000+ assessments, unable even to confirm whether flagged homes were actually rented. The mayor ordered a full overhaul. The tax itself wasn't the problem; the administration was. New York's DOF, working from a 30-day rebuttal window and a fractional-share co-op valuation method, will be judged on exactly this — whether it can tell a genuine second home from a mislabeled primary residence without generating a Toronto-scale mess.
The rest of the world is split
Beyond the direct analogues, the global picture is mixed. Ireland taxes vacant homes at seven times the base rate and idle zoned land at 3% of market value, with early signs of activation. Melbourne moved to a progressive 1–3% vacant-land tax in 2025. On the purchase side, Singapore charges foreigners a 60% buyer's stamp duty and Spain has floated a 100% levy on non-EU buyers — while Hong Kong scrapped its foreign-buyer duties entirely in 2024. The "wealthy will simply flee" narrative is loud, but the evidence — including the hotly disputed UK non-dom departures — is far softer than the headlines.
What it means for New York owners
Three takeaways travel well across all of these cities. First, New York is joining a consensus, not breaking one — expect the surcharge to stick. Second, the mechanism works when it's enforced: owners who sit on a vacant unit assuming the tax won't reach them are betting against Vancouver's track record. Third, and most specific to New York, the market-value base makes this heavier than Paris's or London's percentage premiums — which is exactly why so many condo owners are surprised to find themselves over the threshold.
The practical response is the same one that worked abroad: know your number, then choose a path — make it a primary residence, put it on a qualifying 12-month lease, or sell. We'll pull your official DOF market value and model all three, free.
Sources: UK House of Commons Library (second-home premium, empty-homes premium); GOV.UK Council Taxbase 2025; City of Vancouver Empty Homes Tax; Ville de Paris; City of Toronto Vacant Home Tax; Ireland Vacant Homes Tax. Analysis and owner guidance are Conquest Advisors' own. Not legal or tax advice.