When the province flips the switch to regulate short-term rentals later this year, the District of North Vancouver will be open for business.
At a special meeting April 14, council passed a set of new rules for operating Airbnb, VRBO and other similar businesses in the district.
Council was also in favour of fast tracking an amendment to the rules, which would extend the short-term rental stay limit to 90 days instead of the 28-day limit in the current version of the regulations. That’s after council heard repeated concerns from operators in the community at a public hearing earlier in the month.
Under the rules OK’d by council, operators will be allowed to rent out either the principal residence or a secondary suite on their property to a short-term client. A maximum of six guests can stay at one STR unit.
To qualify under B.C.’s new scheme, hosts must apply for a $350 annual business licence with the district, as well as register with the province by May 1.
After June 1, existing hosts who haven’t properly registered will have their listings pulled off STR sites, according to the provincial government.
Currently, there are more than 900 active STR listings in the district.
Staff to report on short-term rental progress in September
Over the course of several discussions on the issue, Mayor Mike Little said his stance on STRs has softened.
“When we did [public consultation] pop-ups in 2022 … I was pretty restricted in my view about it,” he said. “I thought we should keep the Airbnbs to a very, very limited scope.”
But as the debate went on, Little said he learned more about how STRs are being used.
“It’s not just always about vacations. Sometimes it’s about repairs. Sometimes it’s about temporary workers coming in and fulfilling contracts,” he said. “And so it needs to be a little more flexible than just simply focused on the vacation rental market, which is so much of the press around Airbnbs.”
Coun. Lisa Muri said the district could have pivoted earlier to regulate STRs, and that the municipality should expedite the process to change the stay limit to 90 days.
“I’m not interested in reviewing the 28 days [policy],” she said. “We should be aligned with the City of North Vancouver. We’ve done that on many bylaws over the years, not wanting to impact one another negatively,” she said.
“And I’m sorry that that didn’t come forward when we were initially looking at this,” Muri said.
She proposed that staff prepare to amend the definitions of STRs and bed and breakfasts to extend the stay to the provincial 90-day limit, by May. The rest of council agreed to her amendment.
But council will either have to hold another public hearing, or waive one, to make the change. A public hearing is not yet scheduled at this time.
Staff will report back to council in September on how the new STR regime is progressing.
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