Short-term rental business licence

About short-term rentals in Vancouver

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  Why short-term rentals are allowed in Vancouver

  Vancouver is facing a housing affordability crisis. We want residents to stay, live, and build a future in Vancouver. As part of the Housing Vancouver Strategy, our short-term rental regulations:

  • Protect existing long-term rental housing and return more long-term rental housing to the market
  • Allow residents to use their principal residence to earn additional income to offset their housing costs
  • Provide safe and healthy accommodation options to support our tourism industry
  • Helps us respond to any concerns with noise, garbage, parking, and safety
  • Permit us to enforce against non-compliant and illegal operators who are using long-term rental homes as short-term rentals
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  What is allowed for short-term rental

  A short-term rental can:

  • Be an entire home, or a room within that home, that is rented for less than 90 consecutive days at a time
  • Only be operated from your principal residence – the home where you live, as an owner or tenant, and use for bills, identification, taxes, and insurance
  • Be a laneway or secondary suite ONLY if the operator lives there and it is their principal residence (not permitted if the operator lives in the primary dwelling unit on the property)
  • Be licensed ONLY to the person who resides in the property
  • Be managed and marketed by a property management company with a valid property management business licence

  Short-term rental by-law regulations

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  What is not allowed for short-term rental

  • Operating, listing, or advertising a short-term rental without displaying a valid business licence
  • Operating a short-term rental in a home that is not your principal residence
  • Using the same licence for multiple properties
  • More than 1 booking in a short-term rental accommodation dwelling unit at one time
  • Operating in an unauthorized or illegal dwelling unit
  • Using accessory buildings, like garages or studios for a short-term rental
  • Causing negative community impact through noise, garbage, and parking

  Note Businesses, societies, and commercial operations are ineligible to apply for a short-term rental licence.

  Note  You may get a fine if you are operating without a licence, and your licence may be suspended if you falsify information on your licence application.

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  Strengthening compliance

  Our goal is for all short-term rental operators to comply with our regulations. Our first tool is always education and awareness. If needed, we can escalate to fines, legal orders, licence suspensions or prosecution.

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  Audits and review

  An audit is formal review of your licence application to confirm your short-term rental business qualifies under our regulations.

  During the review, you may be asked to submit:

  • Legal documentation verifying the address for the short-term rental as your principal residence
  • A strata approval letter
  • A landlord approval letter
  • Your property manager's contact information
  • Your booking calendar for the last 12 months and future reservations
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  Prohibited buildings registry

  Our prohibited buildings registry restricts the online issuance of short-term rental licences for all SRO and Rental 100 buildings and many strata buildings in Vancouver.

  Any strata whose by-laws do not permit short-term rentals in the building may contact us through their property management company to have their building added to the list. 

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  When to report a short-term rental

  Is the short-term rental:

  • Operating without a licence?
  • Not used as a principal residence?
  • Not allowed by a landlord or strata?
  • Unsafe?
  • Making a nuisance?

  Tell us now

Documents

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  By-laws

  We have three bylaws about short-term rentals that amend existing bylaws.

  By-law 12078 PDF file (30 KB)

  • About short-term rental accommodations and zoning
  • Amends Zoning and Development By-law 3575

  By-law 12079 PDF file (30 KB)

  • About short-term rental operators and the licence fee
  • Amends Licence By-law 4450

  By-law 12080 PDF file (10 KB)

  • About short-term rental fines
  • Amends Ticket Offences By-law 9360

  By-law 12581 PDF file (22 KB)

  • About Property Manager requirements and fees for short-term rentals
  • Amends Licence By-law 4450

  By-law 4450 PDF file (633 KB)

  • About the issuing of licences and the regulation of business, trades, professions, and other occupations

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