More BC communities opt for new short-term rental rules

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More than a dozen British Columbia communities initially exempt from the province’s new regulations on short-term rentals have decided to opt in to the restrictions as a way to preserve housing for residents and workers.

On Thursday, Premier David Eby and Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon announced that 17 communities had adopted the new short-term rental rules, including Bowen Island, Tofino and Pemberton, communities seeing a flood of tourists and visitors in summer.

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Municipalities with fewer than 10,000 residents, resort communities and regional districts are exempt from the primary residence requirement, which restricts short-term rentals to primary residences and a secondary suite or alley house/garden suite. The new rules will come into effect in 65 British Columbia communities on May 1.

However, additional communities that signed up this week will get one last summer hurray as the new rules don’t go into effect until November 1.

The other 17 communities include:

• Kent District
• Tofino District
• Bowen Island
•Pemberton
• Gabriola Island
• Osoyoos
• Electoral Area A (Mill Bay/Malahat)
• Electoral Area C (Cobble Hill)
• Electoral Area E (Cowichan/Sahtlam/Glenora station)
• Electoral Area F (South Cowichan Lake/Skutz Falls)
• Electoral Area G (Saltair/Gulf Islands)
• Electoral Area H (North Oyster/Diamond)
• Electoral Area D (Skaha East/Okanagan Falls)
• Electoral Area F (West Okanagan Lake/West Bank)
• Electoral Area I (Skaha West/Kaleden/Apex)
• Electoral Area B (Cortés Island)
• Electoral Area C (Discovery Island/Mainland Inlets)

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Premier David Eby said the rise of short-term rental apps like Airbnb, VRBO and other sites has led to a decline of thousands of long-term rental homes in British Columbia amid a housing crisis.

The new rules will “crack down on speculators who effectively operate mini-hotels, while ensuring owners can still rent out spaces in their primary residence,” he said. “As we’ve already seen, these new rules are turning short-term rentals into homes for the people who live and work in our communities.”

In March, more than 19,000 entire homes in British Columbia were listed as short-term rentals for most of a calendar year, the province said, citing data from short-term rental data analytics company AirDNA.

The province has created an enforcement unit, which will be phased in starting May 1, to conduct investigations into reports of non-compliance.

Hosts caught breaking the rules can be fined between $500 and $5,000 per day per violation and up to $10,000 per day for corporations, the province said. Visitors and guests will not be fined, but those with short-term rental reservations after May 1 are advised to check with their hosts to ensure they are complying with new local and provincial rules.

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Some communities, including the Resort Drive area of ​​Parksville, were granted an exemption last month under the province’s strata hotel or motel exemption for units that have been operating in a manner similar to a hotel or motel. The area was built expressly as tourist accommodation more than two decades ago.

The new legislation is being challenged in the British Columbia Supreme Court by Victoria-based groups and the West Coast Property Rights Association, who are demanding a review of the new rules and compensation for the financial losses they will bring.

More to come…

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