Vancouver Bans AirBnB Rentals on Second Homes, Laneway Houses

Mayor Gregor Robertson sets out strict plan for regulating and taxing all short-term rentals.

Strict new measures to regulate and tax short-term rentals under systems such as AirBnB, HomeAway and VRBO were announced by Vancouver Mayor Gregor this week, as the City looks for ways to ease the sub-1% rental vacancy rate.

The no-nonsense measures are designed to encourage the “home sharing” aspect of short-term rentals, but to ban investors from renting out investment units on a short-term basis, in order to free those units up for the long-term rental pool.

The new rules were expected, as the City had previously announced its intention to crack down on short-term rentals, particularly on investor-owned units, but the details had not been released until July 6.

“Housing is first and foremost for homes, not to be operated as a business,” Mayor Robertson told reporters on Wednesday.

Under the new system, residents (home owners or renters) will only be able to rent out rooms in their principal residences on a short-term basis. To do so, they will be required to obtain a business license, which will cost $49 a year, and publish their business licence number on all advertisements. They will also have to pay as much as a 3% “transaction fee” tax on each stay, which will be taken by the rental operator (such as AirBnB) and passed on to the City.

View the fill article here.

Credit REW