Parksville owners exempted from short-term rental rules

Many Parksville property owners are breathing a sigh of relief after the B.C. government granted an exemption for the popular resort community just a month before new provincial short-term rental regulations take effect.

Parksville Mayor Doug O'brien got a phone call Wednesday morning from Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who told him the approximately 400 properties along Resort Drive — a mix of hotels, motels, multiplexes, cabins and cottages — will be exempted from the new rules.

“It's been a bit of a haul, but that's OK,” said O'brien, who has been lobbying for the properties, which were built under municipal tourism zoning, to keep operating as short-term rentals.

He credited Kahlon and ministry staff for “keeping an open mind and seeking more information” about the situation in Parksville, which doesn't have enough hotels and motels to meet demand.

Resort Drive was purpose-built as tourism accommodation starting more than 20 years ago, said O'brien, and if the area wasn't exempted, it would have had a “huge effect on the economy. It would have removed 44 per cent of our tourism accommodations.”

The new rules, which come into effect on May 1, would require short-term rentals to be in an operator's principal residence only, or a secondary suite or a laneway home. Municipalities can choose to opt out if their community has a rental vacancy rate of three per cent or more for two consecutive years.

On Wednesday, the province outlined the criteria for exemptions for “strata hotels” and “strata motels” — individually owned strata lots where accommodation is provided in a manner similar to a hotel or motel that are often rented out by the strata hotel or motel, not the individual owner.

To qualify for the exemption, the strata hotel or motel must have been providing a hotel- or motel-like accommodation before Dec. 8, 2023 and requires the strata hotel or motel to have a staffed front desk on site, employees or contractors that provide housekeeping services for overnight accommodations, and a web platform providing service exclusively for the use of owners offering short-term rentals at the property.