B.C. cracking down on short-term rentals with increased fines, new enforcement

globalnews.ca:

The B.C. government has introduced new legislation to regulate the rapidly expanding short-term rental market in an attempt to return homes to the long-term rental market.

The laws are being put in place to crack down on a massive increase in vacation rentals by owners. This may include rental listings on online platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, and FlipKey.

Under the new rules, when passed, British Columbians will legally only be able to rent out a primary residence and one more additional secondary suite as a short-term rental.

But the legislation does not provide a blanket ban on these rentals and smaller municipalities are not included.

“Anyone who’s looking for an affordable place to live knows how hard it is, and short-term rentals are making it even more challenging,” Premier David Eby said,

“That’s why we’re taking strong action to rein in profit-driven mini-hotel operators, create new enforcement tools and return homes to the people who need them.”

Communities with populations of 10,000 or less are exempt from the legislation but can decide to opt into the new rules.

B.C.͛s short-term rental market is now at an all-time high, with approximately 28,000 daily active short-term rental listings in B.C., marking an increase of 20 per cent from a year ago.

Data indicates that more than 16,000 entire homes are being listed as short-term rentals for the majority of a calendar year.

The new legislation is a complex set of rules including providing significant power to municipalities to either add stricter rules or to avoid enforcing private enterprises providing short-term rentals.

For municipalities, when passed, the legislation will increase fines for operators breaking local rules to support local municipal