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It will be Robinson’s challenge to move quickly on NDP campaign promises, while also being cautious of economic consequences that new real estate regulations could have, experts including UBC housing economists Tom Davidoff and Tsur Somerville told Postmedia on Tuesday.

Somerville and Davidoff said they believe Robinson and the NDP will implement a plan for a two-per-cent speculation tax on foreign people who buy property in B.C. but don’t pay tax here. The tax would be based on assessed value, and estimated revenue of $200 million per year would go into a B.C. Housing Affordability Fund.

“I think the most important thing they can do is to make sure people who buy homes in B.C. are paying taxes here, and I’m pretty optimistic the NDP will move in that direction,” Davidoff said. “And I think they will clamp down on speculation and money laundering.”

“The NDP will be more aggressive in regulating capital in-flow and demand that is not local serving demand,” Somerville said.

Somerville and Davidoff both said they believed one of Robinson’s early actions could be reforms to the B.C. Rental Tenancy Act, to tackle so-called “renovictions” that allow landlords to raise rent prices through dubious means.

The Green election platform proposed expanding and increasing the foreign-buyer tax to 30 per cent and applying it across the province. The NDP has shown no sign of adopting that proposal. But Robinson could pick up on some of Green leader Andrew Weaver’s ideas to tax windfall capital gains on home sales, Somerville and Davidoff said.

Robinson wasn’t available to comment by deadline Tuesday, for this story.

scooper@postmedia.com