So the city has come out with its proposed new rules for regulating short-term rentals. City report is here and my quickie hit here.
This is already prompting a lot of questions on Twitter, many from people wondering how the city will stop people from declaring that their former basement suites are now part of the main house and they’re just renting out a bedroom in their principal residence, not really converting a secondary suite.
I’m doing a story for deadline so would like to see any other questions and concerns you have about how these new regulations will really work out.
10 responses so far ↓
1 Victor // Sep 28, 2016 at 12:40 pm
Doesn’t the C of V have an existing Bylaw that states rentals can’t be less than a month? Curious to know if this is so.
2 Krispin Gord // Sep 28, 2016 at 7:11 pm
Main problem is that many people want choice, or have a space with no kitchen. So relatives can stay over during the holidays and you can rent the rest of the year. rental tenants won’t work in this case.
3 penguinstorm // Sep 29, 2016 at 6:47 am
Yes. This entire conversation is not *necessary* as existing bylaws could cover every scenario that’s been laid out. It’s purely an issue of enforcement.
Vancouver’s looking for a cash grab here but it’s hard to say how much cash there is to grab after you’ve added an entire new administrative layer. Under the current legal framework the key beneficiary of accurate enforcement of empty homes would be the federal government–you can’t make your empty home your “Primary Reisdence” so, if discovered, there’s a capital gains win for the feds.
Remember to check the peephole next time someone knocks: it could be a man in a Gregor mask looking to make sure you’re home! Failure to answer could lead to a fine!
4 Victor // Sep 29, 2016 at 9:41 am
Thank you penguin storm. Silly to be making new Bylaws when the existing ones are not enforced. I gather the new Director of Planning believes we have too many overlapping Bylaws already! Seems to me if the C of V finds a bylaw that doesn’t suit them they just rewrite them and have their majority on Council vote for the changes.
5 Jacob // Sep 29, 2016 at 12:48 pm
What if you are a world traveler and a Canadian citizen. You have a home (condo) in Vancouver and a place in Asia and Europe. You come to Vancouver 2 to 3 times a year for a total of 3 to 4 months of occupancy.
Is your primary residence in Vancouver or not? Will you have to pay the home vacancy tax if you don’t rent it out? Then if you do rent it out, to long-term tenants, you basically can’t live in it when you want to. And now if you want to rent it out for a couple week or have some friends or associates stay for a week or two, you need to get a business license, GST & PST number and have all the administrative headaches?
Essentially I feel it’s a burden to own a place in Vancouver, where I used to feel proud to own a place. It’s a beautiful city where many people want to live and visit. I honestly believe the main issue is lack of development and densification as a result of poor city planning and initiative. Now the city is implementing half-baked ,quick and lazy solutions since any other solution would take years to implement. Shame on the mayor for taking the easy way out. He should prioritize development of homes instead of bike lanes.
6 penguinstorm // Sep 30, 2016 at 8:39 am
My reading of your argument is that you’re OK with someone deciding to open a commercial venture in a residential neighbourhood just because it suits their lifestyle. You’re saying people should be able to do the Air BnB thing should be *allowed* because someone wants an extra room for the relatives at Christmas.
If I’m incorrect, I apologize and perhaps you could clarify.
I don’t buy it. I’m not sure you’d feel the same if your neighbours opened up a Starbucks just because they wanted a latte every Saturday. What’s the difference?
Zoning matters. Your neighourhood is commercial. (Interestingly this goes in reverse sometimes–as Industrial areas get gentrified the “new” residents often want to remove the “old” ones.)
7 Krispin Gord // Sep 30, 2016 at 8:54 am
Yes, I am actually in favour of much more open zoning as they have in Houston
8 penguinstorm // Oct 3, 2016 at 8:27 am
Well OK then. If you’d like to give me your address I’m looking to open a metal stamping factory in a nice quiet neighbourhood.
9 Samantha Collier // Nov 12, 2016 at 6:42 pm
Interesting.
10 Krispin Gord // Nov 12, 2016 at 8:58 pm
I am actually in the non-ferrous stamping (deep drawing) business. Unfortunately, no three phase power in my neighborhood, but maybe one day.