Despites concerns about impacts on tourism, British Columbia is launching a registry for short-term rentals to further crack down on “speculators” operating illegally. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the concerns over tourism are “overblown,” adding, “People still want to visit BC. People still want to live in BC.”

The provincewide registry aims to step up enforcement against operators that don’t comply with short-term rental regulations, Kahlon said, stating, “We believe homes are for people and not for speculation, and this registry will allow us to take the enforcement to the next step.”

Kahlon said all short-term rental operators on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo must apply for a registration number to be displayed on all online listings by May 1, and hosts who fail to comply will have their listings taken down starting June 1.

There will also be annual registration fees, ranging from $100 for hosts who live on the property, $450 for those who live elsewhere, and $600 for so-called strata hotels.

Kahlon said that the province is giving a 50 per cent discount to operators who sign up by Feb. 28, and a 25 per cent discount if they register by March 31.

The ministry said the provincial registry comes on top of short-term rental rules set out by municipalities, including meeting business licence requirements.

Kahlon said the province’s registry data will be shared with the finance ministry and local governments, to “raise the level of enforcement” against owners who break rules on short-term rentals.

Vancouver City Coun. Lenny Zhou said short-term rentals offered on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo fill a role in addressing hotel room shortages, but he said it was “equally important” to balance those needs with residential housing.

“For too long, we’ve struggled to address the challenges posed by non-compliant operators in the short-term rental market,” Zhou said. “This (has) made it difficult to ensure that housing remains available for those who want to call Vancouver home.”

He said the new provincial registry will help target “bad actors more effectively.”

Montreal

Meanwhile, Montreal is further tightening restrictions around short-term vacation rental platforms by boosting the number of inspectors and limiting when people can rent out their primary residences.

The city announced late last week that people will only be allowed to rent their primary residences on platforms such as Airbnb between June 10 and Sept. 10, with some exceptions.

Mayor Valérie Plante said the city hopes the new rules will return as many as 2,000 units back to the long-term rental market.

“Today my message is that illegal business on the back of Montreal renters is finished,” Plante told a news conference.

The city says that despite efforts in recent years to crack down, more than half of the 4,000 units on short-term rental platforms are listed illegally.

Many Montreal boroughs have limited full-time Airbnbs to certain commercial areas. However, rules were less strict when it came to renting out a primary residence, in order to allow people to temporarily rent while they were away for short periods, such as on vacation.

Plante said the new rules will shift the burden of proof on operators to show they’re acting legally and allow inspectors to issue fines of $1,000 a day as soon as a listing pops up outside of the allowable period. That can rise to $2,000 for second offences.

“The minute you post an apartment as available out of the period that is possible, you’ll get a fine,” Plante said. “If you rent it outside this period, you’ll get a fine, $1,000 for every location, every day.”

Alex Howell, a spokesperson for Airbnb, said the new rules would hurt tourism to the city without resolving the housing crisis. In an email, Howell described the measures as “extreme rules that will weaken the economy, harm local businesses, drive hotel prices up and punish responsible hosts who depend on additional income during a cost-of-living crisis.”

The city’s new rules are expected to be adopted in March.

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