Efforts by the mayor of Victoria, B.C., to delay the implementation of new provincial rules restricting short-term rentals were rejected Thursday by city council.
Mayor Marianne Alto had presented a motion to formally ask the province to delay a May 1 start date for rules that will limit short-term rentals, such as those offered on Airbnb, to within a host’s home, or a basement suite or laneway home on the property where they reside.
Alto had argued the May implementation of the new rules would be hard on short-term rental hosts just before the busy summer tourist season and recommended delaying the implementation until Sept. 1.
The B.C. capital is one of several cities facing a May 1 start date for new rules announced by the province in October meant to return housing to longer-term tenants who are struggling to find appropriate and affordable places to live.
Alto’s motion was defeated by council and rebuked by B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who said the province would not budge on its May 1 start date.
“We committed that we would give people to May and that’s what we are doing,” he said. “People are struggling and we need to ensure that the housing is available for people right away in their communities.”
‘Longer runway’
In explaining her motion, which was seconded by Coun. Stephen Hammond, Alto said it was not meant to imply her city or council was unsupportive of the province’s efforts to crack down on short-term rentals.
“All it does is propose a slightly longer runway to allow individuals who do operate short-term vacation rentals, as they used to be known, a little bit longer to adjust to becoming long-term landlords and to providing long-term or permanent housing,” she said.
Councillors such as Matt Dell said they voted against the motion because they were elected to solve the city’s housing crisis. Any delay to implementing tools to help with that were not appropriate, he said.
Victoria already limits short-term rentals to residents’ principal homes, but the provincial laws will end exemptions that have allowed licensed homeowners to rent out properties they don’t live in.
Opt-out requests
Kahlon has reiterated for months that several changes under the Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act, which will come into effect in stages from now through late 2024, are meant to target operators who rent out multiple units over the short-term in residences where they do not live themselves.
But as the May implementation date approaches, several municipalities have bristled at the act’s provisions, especially in places accustomed to meeting tourism demand with offerings on platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia and FlipKey.
So far the province has received opt-out requests from Fort St. John, West Kelowna, Dawson Creek and Pouce Coupe.
Penticton, Parksville, and Prince George are among those who have expressed a want or need to opt out or are exploring a means to do so.
The act allows governments to apply to opt out annually if their community had a rental vacancy rate of three per cent or more for two consecutive years.
Kahlon said the list of approved applicants for exemptions would be announced soon.
Municipalities with a population under 10,000 are automatically exempt from the act, as are a list of resort and mountain communities.
Tofino wants in
Meanwhile, the resort municipality of Tofino voted this week to apply to be included under the act, saying it wants short-term rentals restricted to residents’ principal properties.
Mayor Dan Law said a quarter of all units in his town have been operating as short-term rentals, while about 50 per cent of single-family homes have been, too.
“Council came around and recognized that the pressures on people now,” he said. “People are getting pushed out, they’re living in unsafe homes or sub-standard housing. That was too much and that’s what won out.”
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While some communities are trying to opt out of the province’s upcoming short-term rental restrictions, Tofino, on Vancouver Island, wants in. As a small tourist town, it is exempt from the provincial rules, but has sent a request to opt in to the program. Mayor Dan Law explains why.
Kyle Meagher, who has lived in Tofino for 16 years and purchased a 498-square-foot condo in 2022 to use for short-term rentals, was dismayed by the decision.
Meagher said she rents out her property for eight months of the year and she can’t manage her mortgage by renting it out yearly or longer. She said she bought the property knowing it was specifically designed for vacation rentals.
“I think short-term rentals being made to be a villain is sort of frustrating,” she said. “We are such small operators here and our council people know us. They aren’t looking at a bunch of numbered companies who buy unit after unit, take them off the market, resell them to each other. They’re really looking at community members who are invested.”
Meanwhile Kahlon said he was encouraged by Tofino deciding to opt in to the regulatory program over short-term rentals.
“I applaud their decision and look forward to continuing to work with them to deliver more housing for people living and working in Tofino,” he said through his ministry.
