Earlier this month, the B.C. government launched a registry for short-term rentals (STRs) in the province. All short-term rental operators—including owners, Airbnb and Vrbo hosts, and strata hotels—must apply for a registration number with the province by May 1.
“We believe homes are for people and not for speculation,” said B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon in a news conference on January 20. “This registry will allow us to take enforcement to the next step.”
Operators will be required to pay annual fees that vary from $100 for hosts who live on the property, to $450 for those who live elsewhere, and $600 for strata hotels. To encourage early registration, the province is offering a 50 per cent discount on applications submitted by February 28, and a 25 per cent discount for those completed by March 31. The fees collected will go towards enforcement, said Kahlon.
If operators do not comply, their listings will be removed starting May 1. By June 1, future bookings will be cancelled for non-compliant owners.
STR platforms, such as Airbnb and Vrbo, will be required to confirm that all B.C. listings on their websites have valid registration numbers.
Last year, the provincial government introduced one phase of it’s multi-tiered set of STR regulations in an effort to limit the rentals and return some properties to the long-term housing market. As of May 1, 2024, STRs across many B.C. communities had to be within the operator’s principal residence. A second rental in another dwelling on the same property was, and still is, also permitted under the legislation.
There are exemptions to the principal residence requirement, such as mountain and ski resorts, and municipalities with populations of less than 10,000 people, but those exempted communities can still opt-in. Last year, the small Vancouver Island town of Tofino, for example, signed on.
“We’re already seeing long-term, non-compliant operators now comply with provincial laws,” the district’s mayor, Dan Law, told Cottage Life in a recent interview. “Somebody arguing with a bylaw officer in Tofino is much different than arguing with the provincial ministry.”
Kahlon says that eight months down the line, it appears the provincial legislation has been effective, citing a reduction in rental prices and less freestanding homes on the STR market—10 per cent less, that is.
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Both the principal residence requirement, and the registry, are being enacted by the government to help curb the province’s housing crisis. “The launch of the registry is the next step to provide more long-term homes for people,” said Kahlon in a press release.
“The suite of STR tools introduced by the Province to ensure there are enough homes for people who live and work in B.C., as well as plenty of accommodations for those who visit communities in every region, strikes the right balance,” said Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of B.C. in the same release.
Despite concern over the regulations negatively impacting tourism, Kahlon said folks are still being drawn to the province. “People still want to visit B.C. People still want to live in B.C.”
“We are taking action to help more people find a home in the communities they love by reining in speculators who are operating illegally.”
Operators can register their properties with the B.C. government now.
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