The long-discussed and anticipated day has come – as of May 1st 2024, short term rental restrictions in BC have come into effect. This newly introduced regulation, set forth with the goal of prioritizing long term rental options in BC and combatting climbing cost of living expenses in our province, will now limit Short Term Rentals (like many of those found on Air BnB) to property owners’ primary residences. A full overview of the regulations can be found here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023HOUS0060-001598 

While this ruling may in fact have positive implications and intentions, there has undoubtedly been some controversy arising from the situation. The unfortunate byproduct of these regulations are that properties built or purchased for the sole purpose of serving as short term rental property investments in Kelowna have been included in the exclusion – a frustrating outcome for owners and tourists alike. The City of Kelowna had submitted a request for exclusion from the ruling for specific developments like Playa Del Sol earlier this year, but it was rejected by the province, giving these owners only a few months to decide how to approach the future of their investments.

As the rental market continues to evolve based on the impact of these decisions, new development proposals continue to arise in hopes of creating more sustainable long-term rental options in our community. A recent project was in fact rejected due to being deemed ‘too dense’ – a controversial move in a while where it’s never been more clear that Kelowna’s demand for rental properties continues to spike despite the limited availability.

With no word of new exemptions being on the way and new developments continuing to make their efforts to create long term rental options, for now, we’ll just have to take it day by day as the situation unfolds.

If you’re currently trying to navigate the evolving short term rental property market in Kelowna, let’s get in touch to start planning how to create the best possible outcome for your situation. Stay tuned for more updates coming next month!