Imagine a housing system that treats an empty home the way it treats a rotting apple: unused value that should decline. Vacancy and use-value enforcement applies that logic to shelter. If you leave a unit empty for long periods, its allowable price drops. If you occupy or rent it, it maintains value. The goal is simple: space should circulate to people who need it, not sit idle because it is serving a speculative timeline.
This principle targets one of the most damaging incentives in housing: the idea that you can profit by doing nothing. When value rises regardless of use, investors are rewarded for holding property off the market. That creates artificial scarcity, raises rents, and fuels homelessness alongside empty units. Vacancy enforcement flips the reward structure. You either use the space or accept that its exchange value diminishes.
You can implement this in several ways. A city might apply a vacancy tax that grows the longer a unit is empty. It could enforce legal price caps that decline with vacancy duration, or require a forced sale after a long period of disuse. The mechanics matter less than the signal: housing is a service to be provided, not a safe deposit box.
The effect on behavior is substantial. Owners are nudged to rent, sell, or repurpose units rather than wait for a perfect market moment. That increases effective supply without building a single new unit. It also pressures large-scale investors who rely on holding portfolios of empty properties as a wealth store.
For you, the change is subtle but real. You would see more availability, less price volatility driven by hoarding, and fewer neighborhoods with darkened windows and ghost occupancy. The system would reward people who actually keep homes in use. It would penalize the idea that you can privatize space and time without contributing to the community that makes that space valuable.
Use-value enforcement is not about punishing ordinary homeowners who are between moves or renovating. The policy can include reasonable grace periods and exemptions. The target is sustained vacancy that exists only to preserve speculative value. When an empty home becomes less profitable over time, it becomes a home again.