By Ashley Joannou
Gandall, who has lived within the Period on Yates complicated for a decade, described lengthy waits, packages going lacking and scratched partitions from the excessive variety of guests utilizing a few of its 157 models as short-term leases.
He mentioned residents started to name their constructing a “ghost resort.”
“The foremost concern was the disruption, the upkeep points and the difficulty of theft. We did have extra frequent break-ins in our storage lockers,” he mentioned.
“There was some vandalism within the parkade, and we expect that was additionally as a result of when you could have short-term renters, it’s a lot simpler for short-term renters to produce other folks entry the constructing.”
Within the yr since British Columbia applied laws cracking down on short-term leases, Gandall mentioned issues had improved, and it appeared extra Period models have been getting used long run. Nevertheless it hasn’t utterly prevented folks attempting to dodge the foundations.
“My impression is that because the passage of the provincial laws final Could, coupled with some initiatives by the native metropolis council, there was a dip within the noticeable (short-term rental) exercise, not solely on the Period, but additionally once I’ve spoken to different involved residents in a number of the different main highrises,” he mentioned.
The laws that got here into impact on Could 1, 2024, cowl most communities of greater than 10,000 folks. They limit short-term leases to principal residences, a secondary suite or a construction like a laneway home on the property.
B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon is declaring victory, pointing to dropping rents and hundreds of models being faraway from web sites like Airbnb and VRBO. However consultants say market forces are too complicated to credit score one issue for the adjustments.
Kahlon mentioned hundreds of properties that was once on short-term-rental web sites at the moment are in the marketplace or getting used as long-term leases.
“All my colleagues have tales from their communities of individuals which are shifting into what was once a short-term rental and is now accessible for households long run,” the minister mentioned in an interview earlier this month.
“And we’re seeing rents come down throughout the province, in each neighborhood.”
Property house owners have till Could 1 so as to add their properties to a provincewide registry so as to have the ability to legally use them for short-term rental.
Kahlon mentioned about 15,000 properties have been on the registry originally of April, and his workplace reported greater than $3 million had been collected in registration charges.
“Earlier than the registry was launched, we estimated roughly about 22,000 short-term leases have been on the completely different platforms. We now have 15,000 which are registered up to now, in order that we (have) about 7,000 operators that both haven’t utilized or maybe have determined to not keep within the enterprise of short-term rental working. In order that’s vital,” he mentioned.
Hosts who don’t register their properties can have their listings taken down beginning Could 1, and have future bookings cancelled beginning June 1.
Information supplied by the Ministry of Housing exhibits that from Could 2024 to February 2025, many communities noticed a major drop within the variety of complete properties listed on short-term rental websites.
The ministry says such listings within the Metropolis of Kelowna dropped 31%, whereas these in Victoria dropped 24% and Vancouver listings dropped 22%.
The communities additionally noticed a rise in emptiness charges from 2023 to 2024, in accordance with the information.
Numbers printed by the web site leases.ca present common lease in B.C. was down 0.6% year-over-year in March, based mostly on listings posted on the location, whereas Vancouver noticed a 5.7% drop. It was the sixteenth straight decline in condominium rents within the metropolis, which has had varied short-term rental guidelines since 2018, though it stays the most costly place in Canada to lease.
The web site’s month-to-month report says common asking rents in Canada fell 2.8% to $2,119 in March. Lease for residences in Toronto was down 6.9%, the 14th consecutive decline within the metropolis, which additionally not too long ago applied restrictions on short-term leases.
Nevertheless it hasn’t been one-way motion. Lease in Victoria was up 3% in March. And in February, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Company forecast that whereas B.C. would see increased emptiness charges over the following few years as a consequence of decrease inhabitants development, common rents would rise as extra new, higher-priced models come to market.
The company’s most up-to-date rental market report, for fall 2024, mentioned common Vancouver lease for a two-bedroom condominium was up 5.5% in October from a yr earlier, though that charge of development had slowed.
Andy Yan, director of the Metropolis Program at Simon Fraser College, mentioned whereas some knowledge counsel lease and condominium costs have gone down, there are too many competing components to have the ability to particularly credit score the short-term rental guidelines.
Different components may embody rates of interest, the overall financial state of affairs, or adjustments in immigration, he mentioned.
“There’s plenty of noise attempting to determine what the sign seems like. And I feel that that’s the massive problem, actually attempting to filter by what has occurred within the one yr since B.C. adopted the short-term rental legal guidelines,” he mentioned.
Will Gladman, with the Vancouver Tenants Union, mentioned its members haven’t been reporting lease lower, however relatively “fairly reliably” are being hit with will increase.
He mentioned even when some numbers counsel rents are dropping barely, the price to dwell within the metropolis stays very excessive.
“(It’s) nonetheless unbelievably costly and method out of attain, even for folks making a fairly respectable revenue within the metropolis,” he mentioned.
Gladman mentioned the group didn’t count on the adjustments to short-term leases to make a major distinction, although they’re in favour of any enhancements that don’t contain displacing folks from their properties.
“These have been models that, from our perspective, have been wasted and at the moment are changing into properties for folks. So clearly, that’s constructive,” he mentioned.
“However when you could have a provincial authorities that’s attempting to depend on these sort of supply-side tweaks, and nonetheless to rely in the marketplace to supply some sort of an reasonably priced housing technique, we’d by no means count on it to go very far.”
Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist for the B.C. Actual Property Affiliation, mentioned whereas the federal government’s purpose of accelerating housing provide is comprehensible, the foundations could have executed extra hurt than good total, contemplating influence on tourism.
He mentioned decreases in rents have extra to do with components like new models hitting the market and inhabitants development falling, notably amongst teams with excessive demand for leases, resembling worldwide college students and non permanent overseas staff.
“(It’s) arduous to find out how a lot of an influence (the brand new legislation has had). My guess is fairly small. It’s actually impacting issues in tourism. It’s much more costly to get a resort now, in plenty of areas, there’s not plenty of selection. However I don’t assume it’s had a serious influence on issues like rental affordability,” he mentioned.
In Victoria, Gandall nervous that as resort costs climbed, the federal government could also be tempted to roll again some short-term rental guidelines.
In an interview this week with Chek Information, B.C. Premier David Eby mentioned when the province will get “again to wholesome rental ranges in communities” the federal government would cut back restrictions on short-term leases.
Gandall mentioned Airbnbs nonetheless run in his constructing. He additionally suspects not everyone seems to be being trustworthy after they declare a unit as their major residence.
However Kahlon mentioned the federal government goes by a prolonged course of to verify whether or not a short-term rental qualifies.
The minister mentioned there’ll all the time be folks on the lookout for methods to interrupt the foundations, however that the fines — $5,000 a day for individuals who are caught — are a major deterrent.
“I feel that we’re going to see different provinces which are going to maneuver down the identical path as us,” he mentioned.
“And we’re listening to from our native authorities companions particularly that this method is working significantly better of their communities, and we’re going to proceed down this path as a result of it’s the correct factor to do to make sure folks have entry to reasonably priced housing in our communities.”
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Final modified: April 24, 2025
