City Hall has issues with your rentals

Short-term rentals limit Kelowna vacancy rates, bureaucrats tell council

Kelowna should follow Vancouver and Victoria in banning short-term rentals of secondary suites and investment properties, city staff say.

A proposal going to council today would allow the short-term rental only of spare rooms in an owner or renter's principal residence, or the entire unit while the owner is away.

If ultimately passed by council, the restriction would likely greatly reduce the number of listings in Kelowna for services like Airbnb and other short-term rental companies.

Last November, city staff say, there were 1,158 Kelowna properties advertised for short-term rental, of less than 30 days.

Eighty per cent of the listings were for entire homes or condominiums, rather than single rooms.

The properties were being rented for an average nightly rate of $190.

The proliferation of short-term rental properties is said by city officials to reduce housing options for long-term renters and potentially undercut the viability of local hotels and bed-and-breakfasts.

“While short-term rental accommodations provide a different option for tourists and an opportunity for additional income for homeowners, they can also present concerns about housing availability and affordability, neighbourhood character and nuisances, and unfair competition to traditional accommodation providers,” reads part of a staff report to council.

Short-term rentals are currently prohibited in Kelowna residential zones, but the proliferation of listings show the restriction is widely ignored.

If the city were to allow short-term rentals of all types of properties, municipal staff suggest, the result could be “increased rents, house prices and eviction rates, along with a decrease in vacancy rates.”

The issue of short-term rentals is a contentious one, with more than 2,600 Kelowna residents recently filling out a city-sponsored online survey on the topic.

Though not statistically significant, the survey found a range of attitudes, with 60 per cent favouring the short-term rental of secondary suites and carriage houses, but 20 per cent wanting the practice banned.

While Vancouver and Victoria restrict short-term rentals to an owner’s principal residence, other B.C. communities allow them with few restrictions.

Staff’s suggestion is council endorse the idea of restricting short-term rentals to an owner’s principal residence, then invite public comment in the coming months before any final decision is taken.

Special to The Daily Courier More than 1,100 Kelowna homes and condos were offered for short-term rentals last November, city staff say, on websites such as Airbnb (pictured).