Confused about BC short term rental regulations? You're not alone
The final details of short-term rental restrictions are yet to be determined by the province but until then, some residents remain confused about the status of their properties.
On Friday, Nov. 17, iNFOnews.ca published an article outlining one resident’s concerns for her cottage in La Casa, a short-term rental property located in the Central Okanagan West electoral area. We pulled that story when we got additional information from the regional district showing the homeowner will remain largely unaffected. But the response to the story showed a lot of uncertainty. This is what we learned.
According to the BC government website, the province has established a number of new rules for short term rentals but intends to give local governments stronger tools to enforce short-term rental bylaws, including regional districts.
Short-term rentals in regional electoral areas are exempt from the province’s principal residence requirement, which limits short-term rental accommodation to the host’s principal residence plus a secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit.
However, in exempt areas (like regional electoral zones), local governments can request to “opt in” to the principal residence requirement.
After the story was published, the Central Okanagan Regional District told iNFOnews.ca that La Casa is located in a C5 residential zone and that amendments to that zone's short-term rental rules will not be changing at this time.
On Nov. 17, the district also released further public information in the form of a digital brochure. The document stated that “areas such as the La Casa community, Tourist Cabins and other uses are permitted, allowing for short-term occupancy by owners or occupiers for periods of less than one month. Long-term residential use is not permitted.”
The brochure also said that "although the Province of British Columbia is currently introducing new rules for short-term rentals, the regulations are still forthcoming. At this time, there are no plans to amend the RDCO’s land use bylaws."
According to property owner Melissa Watkins, this was the first information she received regarding the status of her La Casa property.
“The communication's extremely poor,” she said. “Mixed messages. You call departments and you'll get one person say one thing and then one say another.”
Central Okanagan Regional District has no intention of informing other homeowners.
“No, we will not contact property owners given there is no change to zoning bylaws,” the Regional District said in an email to iNFOnews.ca. “The bulletin provides information found in the bylaw about short-term accommodation uses; if property owners have further questions they are encouraged to reach out to planning@rdco.com.”
The bulletin mentioned refers to the digital brochure released on Nov. 17.
Wayne Carson, Regional Director of the Central Okanagan West electoral area, said municipal discussions around short-term rentals may be a bit premature.
“The regulations are going to be determined by the province and so until that happens I’m not quite sure how we're going to come up with rules and regulations that serve our residents well, when they could change at the drop of a hat in a couple of months by the province,” he told iNFOnews.ca.
Carson also said until the province finalizes the new regulations, there is no real accurate information out there. He proved correctly.
But while the province and municipalities try to sort it out, the uncertainty is taking a toll.
“To be honest, the publicity and the government has ruined and destroyed bookings and our incomes, basically,” Watkins said. “Because everyone's fearful now of coming to Kelowna because (they think) there's no short-term rental.”
Watkins said she would usually have bookings into next year but hasn’t received one since this summer's wildfires.
“My cottage is extremely popular,” she said. “I usually get year-ahead bookings… I haven't had anything.”
When asked if the regional district is planning on taking more action to make sure tourists know that short-term rentals are still available in certain areas, it replied “not at this time”.
Carson said in the long run, restrictions may be a good thing for La Casa property owners. When Kelowna short-term rentals are shut down, business may bleed over to the areas that are legally permitted to keep operating.
“I see it as possibly an advantage to the residents of the electoral area, to be able to pick up some slack maybe where the short-term rentals are eliminated in the City of Kelowna and the other municipalities,” he said.
More information about short-rental regulations in BC can be found by following the link here.
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