Short-term rental registry set to launch soon

Over 1,500 illegal units have been targeted by the province

Author

Geoff Sharpe
January 06, 2025

What happened: The province announced a progress update on tackling illegal short-term rental units in BC, with 1,500 units having been targeted for non-compliance issues, according to the Vancouver Sun. The rules that were brought in allow only a primary residence, laneway or secondary suite to be rented out on a short-term basis. 

  • The province has an 11-person team and currently has 75 cases that are continuing to be investigated. Around 1,300 of the cases were from public complaints. 

Public registry: A public website for legal short-term rental units will be launched soon. Those not registered will have to be shut down by short-term listing providers. 

  • CIities where the provincial short-term rental rules were brought in saw a 16 per cent drop in listings. A recent study also showed that without restrictions, rents could’ve increased in Vancouver by $147 per month. 

More issues: Short-term rental company Airbnb is facing a class-action lawsuit in BC that alleges the company breached provincial consumer protection rules. The suit alleges that fees charged by Airbnb amount to an unlicensed real estate brokerage or travel agent service, for which the company is not registered, according to CBC. 

Zoom out: Quebec launched a similar public registry back in December that allows the public to see if a unit is registered and legal, according to CTV. However, people cannot look for an address in Airbnb without booking a reservation since the addresses are not public. 

  • But an investigation by Ricochet in November illustrated that around 1,500 entire homes and apartments were still being rented out illegally in Montreal. In fact, the number of rentable units in Montreal has increased after the short-term rental laws, which was meant to reign in their number.

A worldwide issue: The problem of over-tourism is driving more short-term rentals around the world, creating havoc for locals. In Lisbon, it’s estimated that 60 per cent of units are being used for short-term rentals, according to Travel and Tour World.