Potential Airbnb regulations in Vancouver

Restrictions may be detrimental for owners seeking supplemental income

By Mercedes Deutscher, News Editor

Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson is looking at restricting Airbnb in an effort to improve the Vancouver rental market.

Originally, Robertson believed that an outright ban on Airbnb was in order, after a late September city report by the Policy and Strategic Priorities Committee came in that suggested 1,500 rental properties could be freed. He explained to CBC that he believed that short-term rentals would only continue the trend of suites remaining empty, while the amount of listed properties in the rental market continues to dwindle. As a short-term rental service, Airbnb wouldn’t leave suites available for long-term rental.

“Housing is first and foremost for homes, not operating a business,” Robertson told CBC.

However, due to the increasing demand of Airbnb and the difficulty in enforcing the restrictions, the city is now looking to regulate it. The solution drafted by the city would enforce more restrictions and regulations, such as requiring rental permits and licensing fees for property owners who list their property on Airbnb. They may also be subject to a hotel tax. Additional restrictions could include only allowing principal housing (a standalone, non-vacation property) to be listed, eliminating the chances to rent out basement suites and condos.

Robertson’s ideas to regulate the rental service have stirred some concerns. Homeowners are worried that without the income from short-term rentals, they will be unable to make their mortgage payments.

Not even the entirety of the city council is in agreeance to potential restrictions, as councilor George Affleck echoed the concerns of Airbnb hosts.

Robertson responded: “Both the city’s research and broad public input tells us we can have short-term rentals in Vancouver to help supplement income, while ensuring long-term rents are back in the rental market.”

Airbnb has been urging the city to ease up on the potential restrictions, saying that Airbnb works for accomodations that would remain empty, regardless.

“If a homeowner isn’t going to put them on the market anyways [or] if they’re going to be empty because they use it for their family or other things […] then that’s not helping anybody,” said Alexandra Dagg, a policymaker with Airbnb, to CBC. “We believe regulations for home-sharing need to allow for appropriate flexibility.”

While Dagg argued that the city needs to be more relaxed over what properties could qualify to be offered with Airbnb, she agreed that business licences and fees could help alleviate Vancouver’s rental problems.

For now, the rental service will remain unregulated until the Policy and Strategic Priorities Committee receives more public input. They will be surveying the public until early 2017, when they will report back to the city council with a more detailed plan of action.