The B.C. government is taking aim at rule-breaking short term rental operators with a proposed law that would increase fines and ban most short-term rentals that aren’t in the operator’s principal residence.
The goal is to discourage landlords and investors from taking desperately needed suites off the long-term rental market by listing them on websites like Airbnb and VRBO. But housing officials acknowledge that almost 50 per cent of short-term rental operators are already flouting bylaws that exist in local communities.