10% of former BC Airbnbs back on long-term housing market thanks to crackdown
The Government of BC says last year’s crackdown on Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms has led to a significant number of homes becoming available for British Columbians to live in.
One in every 10 short-term rentals in BC have gone back to the long-term rental market or been put up for sale since the new rules took effect in May 2024, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon told reporters Monday.
“A 10% decrease in the first seven months is significant,” Kahlon said. “It’s welcome news when we increase housing supply and address speculation.”
Vancouver and other BC cities are all seeing rents come down, which Kahlon thinks could partly be due to stricter regulation of vacation rentals. The latest data from Zumper suggests that empty two-bedroom apartments are 10% cheaper to rent now than this time last year. Rentals.ca, which also monitors rental housing prices, suggested in December that Vancouver was seeing a 30-month low for rent prices.
BC’s stricter Airbnb rules came into effect on May 1, 2024. It tightened rules so that hosts can only rent out homes that are their principal residence. The rule change made it harder for hosts to use investment properties to welcome short-term renters.
The rules also gave local governments sharper enforcement tools and makes Airbnb and other hosting platforms turn over their data to authorities.
Now that the calendar has flipped to 2025, it’s time for the next phase of the Airbnb rules: a provincial registry of short-term rental properties. The registry went live Monday, and Kahlon said everyone who registers in the next two months will get a discount on the registration fee.
However, by May 1, if a host doesn’t have a registration number, Airbnb and other platforms won’t be allowed to list a property, and the host will face a hefty fine.