Tofino is out and Creston is in as B.C.'s short-term rental restrictions move into the next phase.
These moves and other last-minute tweaks are being made as the province begins enforcing short-term rental rules on platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO this month.
Starting June 1, B.C. required these platforms to validate postings against a list kept by the province of legally registered short-term rentals.
The province also added a provision allowing B.C.'s Finance ministry to share information with the Canada Revenue Agency to support tax enforcement.
The Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act passed in 2023 and went into effect in May 2024. It requires communities to keep a vacancy rate above 3 per cent for two years or have short-term rentals restricted to units in an owner's primary residence or a secondary suite.
Tourism-dependent communities were exempted, but could opt in to enact the rules. Tofino initially decided to do that, but changed its mind in March. Bowing to public pressure, the local council voted to back out again and asked to be included in the exemptions.
"The particular requirements for that registry, some people in Tofino found quite onerous and difficult," Tofino Mayor Dan Law told simplymastery. "There is a segment of Tofino that pushed back quite hard on council to reconsider the principal residency requirement."
Law said the change will not take effect until November, so the rules are in place for the summer season.
Creston went the other way. It was initially exempt from the rules but joined Salt Spring Island earlier this year and requested to be included.
Creston Mayor Arnold DeBoon said there is a dilemma in wanting to support tourism and provide spaces for visitors, but also wanting to keep housing affordable. Ultimately, the local council examined the rental situation in the town and decided restrictions were needed.
"When people are providing short-term rentals, it takes away from housing from others," he told Black Press. "And so that was a concern of ours, and we did want to regulate that."
These new moves were made official by the province on Monday, June 11.
Province working to smooth the system for removing unregistered listings
Regardless of whether a community has principal residency requirements in place or not, all short-term rentals must be registered with the province or they will be removed from websites.
Along with the Tofino and Creston changes, the government also tweaked the rules to make it easier for platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO to enforce registration rules without running afoul of regulations.
Platforms must remove illegal listings, but the province is now giving them some leeway for technical issues or system downtime.
Now that platforms are on board and registrations are being enforced, the province can get a clearer picture of the number of short-term rentals in B.C.
"Two years ago, local governments were begging the platforms to share information about how many short-term rentals are in the community," Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said at a news conference on June 5.
This year, there are approximately 24,000 listed, which is down from roughly 28,000 in 2023.
"With this new registry, we know exactly where the units are, and we have mechanisms put in place when there are issues," Kahlon said.
Some critics of the restrictions argue requirements need to be relaxed in the face of economic uncertainty resulting from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
The B.C. Real Estate Association wants the three-per cent vacancy rate requirement loosened and industry-specific exemptions enacted for health care and film production workers.
The B.C. Conservatives argue the restrictions hurt local economies, with Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Scott McInnis releasing a statement on Friday, June 13, calling the rules a "disaster of the government's own making."
Conservatives also highlighted some challenges they say constituents have faced de-listings of legitimate rental units due to simple mistakes, such as typos and errors in postal codes.
Kahlon said he expected some "bumps," but that the province has created a mechanism for people to update information to fix these types of problems.
"We don't want to see disruptions," he said. "We made it clear to the platforms that if there are minor issues, they should just work with the host to update them so they can continue to operate."
Tofino still needs to stem commercialization of housing, mayor says
The short-term rental principal residency restriction has been in place in Tofino since January, and Mayor Law thinks the rules helped his community stem the tide of rising home prices. Law voted against requesting the exemption, but lost a 4 to 3 vote.
Law said he felt that despite the vote, it was his duty to back the council's ultimate decision. But, he said, short-term rentals in places like Tofino make it difficult for people to compete with investors.
"I think that Tofino is just an example of the problems that arise when housing is commercialized," he said.
Moving forward, Law said it is now up to him and the council to figure out how to keep people in homes in a town with an average home price of $1.6 million and an average household income of $100,000.
"We're going to find the best way that we can collectively manage short-term rentals so that they benefit," he said. "To allow people in their homes to continue to participate in the local economy."
