Exemptions needed to mitigate unintended consequences

Vancouver, BC – September, 2024. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) is calling for significant amendments to BC's short-term rental laws to mitigate the major disruption they've caused for specific business and tourism sectors across the province, the Association announced today.

On May 1, 2024, the BC Government enacted a widespread ban on short-term rentals, with the intent of returning homes to the long-term rental market. However, as part of a new housing policy resource hub launched in the lead-up to the 2024 Provincial General Election, BCREA identified multiple groups of British Columbians negatively affected by the ban, including:

• medical employees transferred to remote areas;

• those receiving multi-week medical care as well as caregivers in urban areas;

• film sector workers in town for weeks at a time;

• those attending or employed by short-term but large events for which hotel space is inadequate (such as a Taylor Swift concert or the FIFA World Cup 2026); and

• those needing short-term housing due to delays in being able to take occupancy of homes or apartments.

As part of the analysis, the Association stressed that provincial and regional economies need to be factored into policy decisions of this magnitude.

“While housing affordability is extremely important, there are additional considerations in communities across BC that have been paved over with the implementation of this policy,” said Trevor Hargreaves, BCREA Senior VP, Policy and Research. “There are numerous exemptions desperately needed to make this a workable and successful policy moving forward.”

Hargreaves added, “There is no question that some of these short-term rental units should be functioning as long-term rentals, but there are some legitimate uses for short-term rentals that are no longer permitted under the legislation.”

The Association proposed several exemptions from the ban across a wide variety of categories, including high-tourism areas and the groups listed above.