British Columbia's largest real estate organization is appealing to a pair of major constituencies — fans of Taylor Swift and the FIFA World Cup — in calling for changes to a recently enacted law curbing Airbnb and other short-term rentals, one of a number of hot-button housing issues in the upcoming provincial election.
The British Columbia Real Estate Association called on the government to amend the law restricting rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo, citing what it called unintended consequences that have caused a major disruption to tourism and other businesses across the province.
The proposal calls for the province to allow short-term rentals for people attending or working at concerts and other large events in areas with an inadequate supply of hotel rooms. The group cited the trio of concerts by pop superstar Swift scheduled at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium in December and events scheduled in the area for the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer championship.
The push to amend the law comes as short-term rentals compete with hotels and resorts across North America for leisure travelers' dollars, at a time when professional sports and concerts by such stars as Swift and Beyonce have been a bright spot for the lodging industry. San Francisco-based Airbnb recently asked officials in New York City to relax rules that the company contends are diluting efforts to make housing and lodging more affordable, CoStar News reported.
The association also proposed allowing short-term rentals for patients seeking short-term medical care or their caregivers, healthcare employees who are transferred to work in remote areas, and people who need temporary accommodations while they look for permanent housing, the association said in a statement.
The BC Real Estate Association's call to scale back restrictions on short-term rentals is among its advocacy positions in the run-up to the Oct. 19 provincial election. The association's position on short-term rentals is at odds with the stance of the BC Hotel Association trade group, whose members compete with Airbnb and other rental platforms.
Exemptions 'desperately needed'
A recent university study commissioned by the hotel association shows that previous local crackdowns on short-term rentals have effectively reduced long-term rents by an average of 5.7%. The number of homes lost to Airbnb and other platforms has dropped nearly 16% since the provincial law went into effect almost five months ago, according to the study released this month by David Wachsmuth, the Canada research chair of urban governance at McGill University.
The moves dating back to 2018 by Vancouver and other municipalities to restrict short-term rentals have saved tenants more than $600 million in rental costs in 2023 alone, according to the report.
British Columbia's Bill 35, the Short-term Rental Accommodations Act that took effect May 1, aims to increase the province's supply of long-term rental housing by limiting short-term rentals to a landlord's principal residence in communities with more than 10,000 people.
Ski resorts such as Whistler, British Columbia, and other tourism hot spots such as Tofino on Vancouver Island are already exempt from the law. However, the real estate association said broader amendments are necessary.
“While housing affordability is extremely important, there are additional considerations in communities across B.C. that have been paved over with the implementation of this policy,” Trevor Hargreaves, senior vice president for policy and research for the association that represents about 26,000 commercial and residential brokers and other real estate professionals, said in the statement. “There are numerous exemptions desperately needed to make this a workable and successful policy.”
Officials for the province's BC Housing agency did not respond to requests to comment on the call to roll back the short-term rental rules.
In an interview this month with Kelowna Now, British Columbia Premier David Eby said the new rules were needed to increase housing availability in the province.
City requirements
Several other municipalities across Canada have limited rentals to the owner’s primary residence and require operators to have a business permit.
Toronto requires all operators who rent space for a short term, defined as one to 28 days, to register with the city and pay a 6% tax. Quebec has also cracked down on short-term rentals and made registration mandatory.
A recent study from Ottawa-based federal agency Statistics Canada found that less than 1% of potential long-term rental units nationwide are being leased as short-term rentals.
The report used data from AirDNA, which collects information on short-term units listed on Airbnb and Vrbo, the two largest platforms, focused on the subset of short-term rentals that could potentially be used as long-term housing.
Ski areas and other tourist hot spots, such as Whistler in British Columbia, had a higher share of potential long-term dwellings, according to the study. In Whistler, long-term rentals represented 35% of all housing units.