Thousands of rentals on Airbnb and other platforms operating without licences
Nearly half of British Columbia's short-term rental listings are operating illegally despite new regulations aimed at curbing the practice, a recent government analysis revealed.
The BC Ministry of Housing's review of 22,405 short-term rental listings found that approximately 11,200 units are non-compliant with laws that came into effect on May 1st.
The data – shared by Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com – showed that 10,806 listings across seven communities (Vancouver, Whistler, Kelowna, Victoria, Richmond, Burnaby, and Sun Peaks) are not licensed businesses. This includes more than 900 listings in Victoria alone.
"We've had about 1,000 listings that we've already taken down through the [short-term rental] platforms, and more investigations are underway," housing minister Ravi Kahlon told CBC News. "Over the next coming months, we're going to see that shift to more of a heavier enforcement, given that people now have had plenty of time to make the adjustments."
The new regulations, described by industry experts as among the most comprehensive in North America, banned most short-term rentals that are not the owner's principal residence. However, some operators continue to evade these laws.
"Enforcing short-term rentals has always been a gigantic game of cat-and-mouse," said Eric Swanson of rental regulations consulting firm Third Space Planning. "There is a super strong financial incentive to dodge regulations… The work we've done shows that it's usually around two to three times more profitable to operate a home as a short-term rental versus a long-term rental."
Some hosts are attempting to circumvent the regulations by asking potential guests to book privately instead of through official platforms.
One host message obtained by CBC News read, "We are no longer able to take short-term rental bookings from the Airbnb platform after May 1, 2024, for less than 90 days... However, I can still take private bookings with FRIENDS & FAMILY according to the government guidelines."
Read more: Short-term rentals have inflamed Canada's affordability crisis, report suggests
The City of Victoria reported receiving over 100 complaints and inquiries per month related to short-term rentals since the law took effect, with complaints increasing since the legislation was announced last fall.
Minister Kahlon said that the new data will enable more proactive enforcement. Warnings to illegal operators will soon be followed by fines of up to $5,000 per day for hosts and $10,000 per day for platforms that do not remove illegal listings.
The province currently employs eight investigators, with municipalities also having their own enforcement teams. Later this year, BC plans to release a registry of short-term rentals to further aid enforcement efforts.
As the crackdown intensifies, some short-term rental owners have responded with legal challenges, arguing that the regulations interfere with their property rights and business investments. Both the City of Victoria and the province are currently involved in separate legal battles with short-term rental owners.
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