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B.C.'s short-term rental legislation

Last updated on May 9, 2024

Like many jurisdictions, B.C. is regulating short-term rentals to help return more short-term rental units into homes for people. Learn more about B.C.'s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act and regulations on this page.

On this page:

Overview of B.C.'s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act

B.C. is facing a housing crisis, with a shortage of all forms of attainable housing, including long-term rentals. 

The rise of the short-term rental of entire homes is taking away much needed homes for British Columbians. Data from 2023 shows that more than 16,000 entire homes are being used as short-term rentals for the majority of the year in B.C. This is making it more challenging to find affordable long-term places to live. 

Many local governments have taken action to regulate short-term rentals, but enforcement of bylaws is a challenge, and they have asked the Province for more tools and resources. 

The purpose of the Act is to: 

  • Return short-term rental units to the long-term housing market  

  • Give local governments stronger tools to enforce short-term rental bylaws 

  • Establish a new Provincial role in the regulation of short-term rentals 

The Act applies to short-term rentals being offered to the public including: 

  • Platforms where people reserve and pay for the accommodation, for example, Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, and FlipKey  

  • Offers on other web listing forums, for example, Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, and Craigslist 

  • Listings in classified ads in newspapers 

The Act will not apply to: 

  • Hotels, motels 

  • Reserve lands 

  • Nisga’a Lands or the Treaty Lands of a Treaty First Nation (unless the Nation chooses to opt into all or part of the legislation through a coordination agreement with the Province) 

  • A vehicle, such as an RV 

  • A tent or other temporary shelter â€‹

Timeline

The regulations and responsibilities of the Act are expected to come into effect at different times through a phased approach over two years. Highlights include:

  • Effective October 26, 2023 (with Royal Assent): Increased fines and business licensing authority for regional districts 

  • May 1, 2024: Principal residence requirement (including exempt areas and accommodations), changes to legal non-conforming use protections, and requirement to display valid local government business licence numbers, where business licences are required 

  • Summer 2024: Data sharing between the Province and local governments  

  • By early 2025: Provincial registry launch and requiring platforms to remove listings without valid provincial registry numbers 

Returning short-term rental units to the long-term rental market

Principal residence requirement 

Effective May 1, 2024, the Province is implementing a provincial principal residence requirement which will limit short-term rentals to:

This requirement does not apply everywhere. Find more information on the provincial principal residence requirement on the principal residence requirement page.

Changes to legal non-conforming use protections

As of May 1, 2024, protections for non-conforming use of property will no longer apply to short term rentals. In some areas, these protections have allowed short-term rental hosts to continue to use their property for short-term rentals even when it was against the bylaws set by the local government. 

  • Protections for non-conforming use of property will continue to exist for other land uses
  • Information about non-conforming use is available through local governments

Strengthening local government tools to enforce short-term rental bylaws

Display of business licence

Many local governments require a business licence for a host to operate a short-term rental. Effective May 1, 2024, short-term rental hosts must display a valid business licence number on their listing in areas where a business licence is required by the local government.

Platform accountability

If a listing does not comply with a business licence requirement where required by the local government, the short-term rental platform must remove the listing at the request of the local government.

Data sharing

To assist local governments with better short-term rental bylaw enforcement, short-term rental platforms will be required to share information about short-term listings on a monthly basis, beginning in May 2024.  

This information is confidential and will not be disclosed to the public.   

Increased fines and tickets

The maximum fine that regional districts can set for prosecutions of bylaw offences under the Offence Act has increased from $2,000 to $50,000. This is consistent with the maximum fines for municipalities under the Community Charter.

The maximum municipal ticketing fine that a local government may set under the Community Charter Bylaw Enforcement Ticket Regulation and Vancouver Charter By-Law Enforcement Ticket Regulation has increased from $1,000 to $3,000 per infraction, per day. This fine can be applied in: 

  • Municipalities
  • Regional districts
  • Islands Trust 

New business licensing authority for regional districts

Regional districts are now able to regulate and licence short-term rentals and other businesses, in similar ways to municipalities. This change comes from amendments to the Local Government Act.

Find more information about regional district business licensing here: Regional district business regulation

Policy guidance for local governments

Local governments can view policy guidance for the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act here: Short-Term Rentals: Policy Guidance for BC Local Governments (pdf 866 KB)   

Establishing provincial oversight of short-term rentals

Provincial registry

By early 2025, the Province expects to establish a short-term rental registry. This will help ensure that short-term rental hosts and platforms are following the rules.

Hosts will be required to include a provincial registration number on their listing, and platforms will be required to validate registration numbers on host listings against the Province’s registry data.

Provincial compliance and enforcement unit

To ensure the provincial rules are being followed, the Province will establish a provincial compliance and enforcement unit. This unit will:

  • Monitor compliance
  • Issue compliance orders
  • Administer penalties for violations  

Short-term rentals versus tenancies

In general, a booking made on a short-term rental platform is not covered under the Residential Tenancy Act because usually the accommodation is being occupied for vacation or travel purposes. However, there are circumstances in which a tenancy may be established.

Find more information on what types of accommodation are covered by the Residential Tenancy Act at this page: Types of rental housing situations 

If there is uncertainty about the legal requirements related to a specific accommodation arrangement, it is best to speak with a lawyer.

News releases

In addition to the information on this page, please also see the October 16, 2023, Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act news release, backgrounders, and technical briefing presentation.

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Disclaimer

The information on this webpage on the Province of British Columbia’s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act and regulations is provided for the user’s convenience as a basic starting point. It is not a substitute for getting legal advice or other professional advice. If there is a conflict between the information on this webpage and the legislation or regulations, the legislation and regulations prevail. This information may be subject to change, including due to any future government approvals. 

Please contact ServiceBC if you have questions about B.C.'s new short-term rental legislation.

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