New Rules for Short-Term Rentals in BC

May 1 2024 From the province:   The new rules for short-term rentals are now live:   The Principal Residence Requirement, meaning short-term rentals can only be offered in the principal residence of a host, plus one additional unit, secondary suite or laneway home/garden suite on the property in communities where populations are greater than 10,000 people.   The Principal Residence Requirement will function as a provincewide floor for communities with populations of more than 10,000 people, but local governments will still be able to use existing bylaws and introduce additional bylaws that are more restrictive.   The Principal Residence Requirement will come into effect in more than 60 communities throughout B.C.   Strata hotels and motels that have been operating in a manner similar to a hotel or motel before Dec. 8, 2023, and that meet select criteria moving forward, will be exempt from the Principal Residence Requirement.   Non-conforming use of property will no longer apply to short-term rentals. Under previous legal non-conforming use protections, if an existing use of land or a building did not conform to the new bylaw, it would have generally continued with legal non-conforming use.    Short-term rental hosts will be required to display a valid business licence number on their listing, where a business licence is required by a local government.   Short-term rental platforms will be required to share data with the Province.   Local governments can request that a platform remove listings that do not display a valid business licence.   Full requirements for hosts and platforms to comply with the new rules have also been released and are available in Backgrounder 1 and here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals   READ the full release here. New rules for short-term rentals Legislation has been enacted to give local governments stronger enforcement tools for their short-term rental bylaws, return short-term rentals to the the long-term rental market, and establish a new Provincial role in regulating short-term rentals. Services and information topics B.C.'s short-term rental legislation Like many jurisdictions, B.C. is regulating short-term rentals to help return more short-term rental units into homes for people. Learn more about B.C.'s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act and regulations on this page. Provincial principal residence requirement B.C. has introduced new rules that restrict short-term rentals to principal residences in many B.C. communities, starting May 1, 2024. Information for short-term rental hosts, platforms, and guests As of May 1, 2024, there are new requirements for short-term rental hosts and short-term rental platforms operating in B.C. Find more information for key groups on this page.  Definitions for BC's short-term rental legislation Find definitions and key concepts related to B.C.'s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act and regulations on this page. Subscribing for short-term rental updates Subscribe for emailed updates to B.C.'s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, regulations and related information by entering your email address in the Subscribe text box on this page. Further regulations are expected in the coming year.   SOURCE: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals

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CMHC Predicts House Prices to Increase by as Much as 89% by 2030 Across Canada

CMHC Predicts House Prices to Increase by as Much as 89% by 2030 Across Canada  Estimating how much housing we’ll need by 2030 September 13, 2023 source: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/blog/2023/estimating-how-much-housing-we-need-by-2030   At-a-Glance We maintain our 2022 projection that Canada needs about 3.5 million additional housing units by 2030 to restore affordability. We expect housing demand to vary across the country due to evolving economic and demographic conditions. Most of Canada’s housing supply gaps are in Ontario and British Columbia. Quebec and Alberta are also projected to need more supply because of economic growth. A smaller overall housing stock in 2030 is projected from what we reported last year. The main reason for this decline is the current shortfall in housing construction. Read the full report here.    

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BC MLS Search System Instructions & Your Relationship With a Real Estate Professional

Here's some tips on using your MLS Matrix Portal including Marking Favourites, Accessing Floor Plans & Sales Prices, Marking Notes. If you have not already been set up for this access, please contact me to get set up. Viewing Notes To view notes your agent might have left on a property, select Messages in the top navigation bar and then click on the Property Notes tab.      Writing Notes To leave notes in Matrix, go to the full property page and scroll down to add in a note. Your agent will be able to see any notes that you leave.    Marking Favourites To favourite a property, click the heart icon on any property.   Viewing Sale Prices For properties that are pending or sold, you can view the sale price.  Scroll down on the property page to view the price the property was listed at as well as the price it sold for.   Viewing Floor Plans and Other Supporting Documents On a listing, click the document icon to view floor plans and any other supporting documents attached to the listing.    BCFSA - Disclosure of Representation in Trading Services (Your Relationship With a Real Estate Professional)   Please let us know if you have any questions.  

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