Parksville Landlords Get Waiver of Short-Term Rental Rules

Article content

Many Parksville homeowners are breathing a sigh of relief after the British Columbia government granted an exemption for the popular resort community just over a month before new provincial regulations on short-term rentals come into effect.

Parksville Mayor Doug O’Brien received a phone call from Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon on Wednesday morning, who told him that the approximately 400 properties along Resort Drive (a combination of hotels, motels, multiplexes, cabins and cabins) will be exempt from the new rules.

Article content

Article content

“It’s been a little long, but it’s OK,” said O’Brien, who has been pushing for properties built under municipal tourist zoning to continue operating as short-term rentals.

He credited Kahlon and ministry staff for “keeping an open mind and seeking more information” about the situation in Parksville, which does not have enough hotels and motels to meet demand.

Resort Drive was built expressly as tourist accommodation more than 20 years ago, O’Brien said, and if the area was not exempt, it would have had a “huge effect on the economy.” “It would have eliminated 44 percent of our tourist accommodation.”

The new rules, which go into effect May 1, would require short-term rentals to be held only in the operator’s primary residence, or in a secondary suite or on a private street. Municipalities can opt out if their community has a rental vacancy rate of three percent or more for two consecutive years.

On Wednesday, the province outlined criteria for exemptions for “strata hotels” and “strata motels,” individually owned strata lots where accommodation is provided similar to a hotel or motel that are often rented by the strata hotel or motel. not the individual owner.

Article content

Article content

To qualify for the exemption, the Strata hotel or motel must have provided hotel- or motel-like accommodations prior to December 8, 2023 and requires the Strata hotel or motel to have a front desk with on-site staff, employees or contractors who provide cleaning services for overnight accommodations and a web platform providing service exclusively for use by owners offering short term rentals at the property.

The exemption also comes into effect if the facility has been operating as a hotel before December 8, 2023 and has at least one strata lot that cannot be used as a primary residence due to a zoning restriction, rental management agreement or a restrictive covenant.

Newly built strata hotels and motels occupied on or after December 8 must meet all requirements. Residential buildings that do not meet the criteria will not be exempt from the primary residence requirement, the province said.

O’Brien said city planners told him Parksville qualifies for the exemption under the second criterion because the properties on Resort Drive are zoned as purpose-built tourist accommodations and have covenants in place.

Article content

Another community that was granted an exemption is the resort community of Predator Ridge in Vernon, which is zoned for short-term rentals.

Judy Thomas of the Resort Drive Advocacy Group, which represents property owners and businesses along Resort Drive, welcomed Wednesday’s announcement but plans to remain vigilant until the waivers are formally approved in April.

“We were worried all along about getting an exemption, but only for the rental management company and not for the individual landlords,” he said. “We are all a little wary of the word ‘exemptions.’ It’s all in small print.”

Adam Walker, the MLA for Parksville-Qualicum, has been working with the city and the advocacy group to fight for the waivers. Throughout the process, he heard from local landlords who were frustrated by the lack of clarity after the government announced stricter rules on short-term rentals last October.

“These homeowners receive phone calls every day from visitors canceling their stay in our community because there is so much uncertainty,” he said. “People can’t run businesses this way.”

Article content

[email protected]

x.com/cherylchan

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know – add VancouverSun.com and LaProvincia.com to your favorites and subscribe to our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber – for just $14 a month you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The province.

Article content