Tofino, Pemberton among communities joining BC’s new restrictions on short-term rentals – Vancouver Sun Achi-News

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With less than two weeks before BC’s short-term rental restrictions go into effect, visitors staying at Airbnb, Vrbo or other short-term rentals are being asked to check with their hosts to make sure they’re not staying in illegal accommodations.

Guests should ask hosts if they’re complying with the new rules, BC’s housing minister said, even as he reassured guests they wouldn’t be concerned.

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“The responsibility to comply with the rules falls on the hosts and the short-term rental platforms,” ​​Rabbi Kahlon said at a press conference with Prime Minister David Avi Belengali on Thursday. “We encourage people to continue exploring beautiful British Columbia, and stay in legal short-term rental accommodations.” The new regulations that go into effect on May 1 will limit short-term rentals to a primary residence or a secondary suite or track. House/garden suite in the property.

They apply to more than 60 BC communities with populations of more than 10,000 people, as well as 17 smaller communities, including Bowen Island, Tofino, Osoyoos, Pemberton and Gabriola Island, that have decided to join. For these communities, the rules will go into effect on November 1.

The new legislation carries fines of $500 to $5,000 per day per violation for hosts and up to $10,000 per day for platforms.

Ivey said the county’s primary residence requirement is intended to discourage speculators while allowing homeowners to rent out spaces in their primary residences if they choose to do so.

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He acknowledged that the restrictions could throw some property owners’ investment and retirement plans into disarray, but made no apologies and said people who have money to invest should put their money elsewhere.

“Don’t compete with individuals and families looking for a place to live with your investment money,” Ivey said, adding that the government would “tilt the deck every time for this family.”

The government established a district enforcement unit, currently staffed by four people, to conduct investigations of alleged non-compliant units.

Enforcement will be largely digital and includes the use of a short-term rental data portal that will help local governments monitor and enforce regulations.

Municipalities with their own short-term rental restrictions can upload non-compliant properties to the portal, Kahlon said. The platforms will have five days to verify if the units are on their sites. Local governments without a short-term rental license can report properties they believe are non-compliant.

The platforms will be required to remove listings that do not meet the requirements of local or county governments and provide the county with a monthly update of short-term listings on their sites, Kahlon said.

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Companies like Expedia and Booking.com are working to prepare for the new rules, and he hopes other platforms will follow suit by May 1.

Airbnb said it has been in discussions with the provincial government for months and plans to comply with the new rules, but expects them to hurt the province’s tourism sector by taking extra income from residents and limiting people’s lodging options, while improving little. The residents’ housing crisis.

“They’re doing it because they say there’s going to be an impact on housing, that it’s going to make more housing available to people,” said Nathan Rothman, Airbnb’s policy lead in Canada. “That’s just not true.”

Despite several years of Airbnb restrictions in Vancouver, for example, rents have risen while vacancies have remained low, he said.

Kahlon said the pending rules are already having a positive impact on housing availability, with short-term rentals being converted to long-term use or offered for sale.

As of March, more than 19,000 entire homes in B.C. were listed as short-term rentals for most of the year, the province said. Even if half of those units are put back on the market long-term, it will make a “substantial difference” in communities, Kahlon said.

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Ivey said there has been a “massive increase” in hotel construction in key tourist areas as an unintended consequence of the new policy.

Bowen Island, a small community of 4,200 whose council voted in March to join the county’s short-term rental regulations, has seen increased pressure from tourists and demand for housing in recent years.

The decision was the council’s way of “balancing the appropriate use of residential neighborhoods while still allowing property owners to do what they want with their properties,” Mayor Andrew Leonard said.

The primary residence requirement still allows for Airbnb and other short-term rentals on the island, he noted. “The vast majority of short-term rental operations are unaffected. It just keeps it in the homes of homeowners instead of speculators.”

Several communities, including the Resort Drive area of ​​Parksville, were exempted last month under the county’s exemption for strata hotels or motels. The area was built for tourist purposes more than two decades ago.

The new legislation is being challenged in the BC Supreme Court by Victoria-based groups and the Westcoast Property Rights Association, who are calling for a review of the new rules and compensation for financial losses.

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According to Airbnb, Airbnb bookings and related spending will generate around $2.5 billion in BC in 2023 and create 25,000 jobs.

The company says that for every $100 spent on an Airbnb reservation, guests also spent about $229 on other travel expenses.

More than three-quarters of hosts surveyed by the company say they use their Airbnb earnings to cover rising living costs, especially housing.

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