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In Vancouver they charge more property tax if the building is empty.

https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/empty-homes-t...

Not sure if it's enough, but it's something.

I like this part:

False declarations

False property status declarations may result in fines of up to $10,000 per day of the continuing offense, in addition to payment of the tax.

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This needs to happen everywhere, and it should be exponential. Each year a property is vacant for 6 or more months should double the tax.

Can't you park staff there?

Is there a requirement for owner occupancy?

That would free the apartments the staff would otherwise live in, though?

We already have this in the Netherlands. In order to deter squatters you can hire a student to live in your property. You can kick them out on short notice.

Different laws here though. You guys can lose a place to squatting in the Netherlands, we can't here (Canada/Vancouver).

And you should not. Hyping real estate prices or just putting massive real estate to disuse and often pricing the locals out is a big problem but so is losing a property to squatting. Such things don’t always involve millionaires and billionaires.

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