New B.C. short-term rental exemptions needed due to tourism impacts | Daily Hive

New B.C. short-term rental exemptions needed due to tourism, film industry, and healthcare worker impacts

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The BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) is urging the provincial government to revise its short-term rental legislation to better reflect the economic realities of local communities, tourism trends, and the housing spectrum.

Today, the association called for a series of targeted exemptions to alleviate unintended consequences of the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, especially as British Columbia braces for high domestic tourism demand this summer.

The legislation, introduced to address the province’s housing crisis by curbing short-term rental supply, such as listings on Airbnb and Vrbo, has sparked concern among real estate professionals, municipal leaders, and economic stakeholders, according to BCREA.

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While acknowledging the importance of long-term rental housing for people who live, work, and study in their communities, BCREA argues that current short-term rental regulations are overly restrictive and risk harming local economies, especially in tourism-reliant regions.

“The B.C. provincial government has the challenging job of balancing housing policy with overall provincial economic wellbeing,” said Trevor Hargreaves, senior vice president of government relations, marketing and communications at BCREA, in a statement.

“Some key changes to current short-term rental legislation would help many people and communities across the province while maintaining the spirit of the original policy.”

The regulations that have significantly reduced the supply of short-term rental homes have even hit the film and television production industry, especially in smaller communities.

With large sizes of production crews and cast often needing short-term housing in areas where traditional hotel and accommodation options are already stretched thin from growing tourism, BCREA is urging an immediate broad exemption for short-term rentals for this industry. The over-reliance on hotels has driven up nightly rates, and increased competition for visitors.

They also recommend providing municipal governments with the ability to regain zoning control over short-term rentals, enabling them to designate specific buildings or zones for short-term rental use without needing to meet the provincial government’s existing exemption criteria under the legislation.

BCREA cited examples such as Parksville and Prince George, noting that the required three per cent long-term rental housing vacancy rate threshold for exemption is too rigid and arbitrary. Parksville, for instance, has not had such a vacancy rate in over 20 years, while Prince George’s rate dipped below the threshold in 2023, despite serving as a hub for temporary workers like healthcare professionals and construction crews.

Additionally, they calling for a full exemption of strata hotels and fractional ownership properties from short-term rental legislation. These buildings, common in B.C.’s Interior, are typically designed for short-term or part-time use and often cannot accommodate long-term tenants. The association argues that the current exemption criteria — based on convoluted definitions involving management agreements, front desk staffing, and zoning — are confusing and exclusionary, removing critical accommodation options from tourism-dependent communities.

Other recommended policy changes relate to supporting the needs of temporary healthcare workers and patients who often rely on short-term rentals due to the lack of flexible accommodation options. BCREA suggests the creation of new geographic exemptions for short-term rentals near major hospitals and healthcare hubs, not dissimilar to enabling higher residential density within Transit-Oriented Areas under the province’s new transit-oriented development legislation.

The provincial government’s short-term rental legislation came into full force in May 2024. In January 2025, BC Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Ravi Kahlon indicated that ever since the policies became effective, about 10 per cent of homes that were previously used as short-term rentals had returned to the long-term rental housing market — a move to help address housing affordability and supply issues.

In April 2025, Premier David Eby told media that these restrictions could be reduced at some point, when long-term rental housing supply levels reach healthier vacancy levels.

BCREA’s pleas come ahead of growing concerns, especially in Metro Vancouver, where the demand is greatest, that the overall accommodations supply is not keeping up with demand, resulting in escalating nightly hotel rates — now the highest among Canada’s major urban centres.

Destination Vancouver forecasts there is a need for 20,000 additional hotel rooms in Metro Vancouver over the coming decades, including 10,000 within the city of Vancouver and another 10,000 in other areas of the region. But the viability of new hotel projects is challenged by high land and construction costs, and growing operating costs, especially with labour.

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