The City of Victoria is taking steps to clamp down on the burgeoning short-term (vacation) rental industry popularized by online lodging websites such as AirBnB and VRBO.

 

A newly-released staff report on vacation rentals within the City of Victoria has outlined multiple measures authorities may take to “limit short-term rentals in Victoria to the greatest extent possible through appropriate language in the Zoning Regulation Bylaw, housing agreements, or other available tools to ensure that all new residential-zoned units are used for the primary purpose of housing rather than as short-term rentals.”

 

Recommendations include the creation of a comprehensive scheme of business regulations for both existing and future short-term rentals that may include the requirement for a business license to operate a short-term rental, special business licensing fees, a requirement that such businesses comply with existing strata bylaws, and the establishment of formal rules governing short-term rental operators.

 

The City may also engage the BC Assessment Authority to ensure properties used as short-term rentals are classified as Class 6 properties, otherwise known as “business or other.”

 

It is not clear, however, whether City Hall will administer the program or seek the services of third party organizations tasked with monitoring property owners and their activities as landlords. 

 

Once a regulatory regime is in place, officials will assess the efficacy of any new regulations as they pertain to the City’s rental housing vacancy rate and the short-term rental industry.

 

As of the publication date of this article, there is no specific time-frame during which new regulations will be implemented.

 

Short-term vacation rentals have long been considered by City Hall as a contributor to the Capital Region's declining rental housing vacancy rate. As a measure to curb their effect on housing supply and rising apartment rental rates, last fall Victoria councillors implemented a moratorium on short-term rentals at the Dockside Green development in Vic West, and vowed to assess the possibility of implementing new regulations aimed at managing the industry.  C