New Rules for Short-term Rentals
In October, the Province announced new legislation, The Short-term Rental Act (Bill 35), which is expected to take effect on May 1, 2024. These new rules will regulate the short-term rental market, such as Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia and Flipkey.
With the new rules, BC Property owners will legally only be able to rent out a primary residence and one more additional secondary suite as short-term rentals. The Province has defined short-term rentals as accommodation for less than 90 days in exchange for money.
The Province will establish a short-term rental registry, and property owners will have to register their short-term rental with the provincial registry and be required to include the provincial registry number on their listing. Short-term rental platforms like Airbnb will be required to validate registration numbers on host listings against the provincial registry.
Important timeline:
Immediately after Royal Assent: Increased fines and tickets, business licensing authority for regional districts
May 1, 2024: Principal residence requirement (including definition of exempt areas or accommodations), changes to legal non-conforming use protections
Summer 2024: Data sharing
Late 2024: Provincial registry launch, requiring platforms to remove listings without valid provincial registry numbers.
