STEVEN TSE PERSONAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATION
  • PROPERTIES
    • FEATURED LISTINGS
    • SOLDS
  • SERVICES
    • SELLERS
    • BUYERS
  • NEWS
  • CONNECT
    • MEET STEVEN
    • CONTACT
  • RESOURCES
    • TESTIMONIALS

City of Vancouver issues hundreds of violation tickets to short-term rental rule-breakers

9/6/2019

 
Picture
GLEN KORSTROM (BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER) - The City of Vancouver is touting its enforcement for helping its year-old short-term rental program run effectively.
While the city believes that 73%, or 4,266 of the 5,866 active short-term rental hosts are abiding by the rules, its staff has flagged 27% of all short-term rental addresses for audits to confirm compliance with city regulations that went into effect on September 1, 2018.
Those new rules made it legal for residents to rent their primary residences for stays that were less than 30 days – something that was technically illegal before but was a law that was rampantly flouted with no enforcement.

Renting non-primary residences remains illegal, and Business in Vancouver has documented in past stories how there are workarounds that enabled hosts to skirt the city’s licensing requirements.
The intent of the city’s new rules were to protect rental stock and eliminate unfair competition for bed-and-breakfast businesses.
There were some irregularities with the city’s statistics.
It was not immediately clear, for example, how the city could have listings at 4,366 addresses that staff believe to be in compliance if the city has only issued 4,025 short-term business licences. That would logically mean that 341 hosts have more than one primary residence, which would not be allowed.
Regardless, city data released September 5 showed that city staff has issued:
  • 642 warning letters;
  • 660 violation tickets;
  • 276 legal orders;
  • 150 voluntary cancellations;
  • 117 suspensions; and
  • 116 prosecution referrals.
Three people whose licences were suspended unsuccessfully appealed those suspensions.
“The audit program has also resulted in a tenfold increase in licence suspensions and voluntary licence cancellations since the spring,” the city said in a news release.
“Short-term rental licenses are suspended as result of operators not meeting principal-residence requirements, failing to have strata or landlord permission to operate, operating illegal, unsafe or nuisance dwellings or failing to provide the requested documentation.”
The city said that it continues to escalate legal action against commercial operators who are violating regulations.
In August, a commercial operator who had a combined 35 short-term rental listings at two properties, and who was previously fined $20,000 in provincial court, was fined two additional charges of $10,000 by the courts for unauthorized short-term rental activity at their second property. Total fines issued against this operator are $40,000.
Two other commercial operators have been found guilty in BC Provincial Court for operating and marketing without a business licence.
“Since day one, the goals of our short-term rental regulations have been to protect long term rental housing, ensure public safety and bring operators into compliance with our bylaws,” said the city’s chief licence inspector, Kathryn Holm.
“This is a dynamic market with operators and listings continually shifting. Our approach over the last year, and in particular the adaptations we’ve made in the last five months, reinforce that our efforts are working and will continue to evolve as we go forward.”
Holm and her team plan to bring a review of the short-term rentals program to council this fall.

​


Comments are closed.

    Market Update

    Updates on Real Estate news happening in your city. 

    Archives

    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Architecture
    Banking & Mortgage
    City Development
    City Events
    Home Staging
    Market Trends
    Project Presales
    Strata
    Supportive Housing
    Vancouver Heritage

  • PROPERTIES
    • FEATURED LISTINGS
    • SOLDS
  • SERVICES
    • SELLERS
    • BUYERS
  • NEWS
  • CONNECT
    • MEET STEVEN
    • CONTACT
  • RESOURCES
    • TESTIMONIALS