Whereas the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, introduced by the Province of British Columbia in October 2023, mandates local governments to regulate short-term rentals to increase the supply of long-term housing but applies arigid exemption thresholdbased solely on rental vacancy rates; And whereas smaller communities, such as Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, experiencetemporary fluctuations in vacancy rates due to major projects and economic cycles, which do not reflect a long-term housing shortage, yet remain ineligible for exemptions under the current criteria: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the provincial government, specifically the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, to amend the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act to allow greater exemption flexibility for small and resource-based communities by: - Expanding exemption criteria beyond rental vacancy rates to include economic conditions, municipal housing needs assessments, and local government input; and - Allowing municipalities under 25,000 population to apply for exemptions based on demonstrated local housing market conditionsrather than rigid vacancy thresholds.
Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs BC has a limited supply of housing and the Province is prioritizing homes for workers and residents in BC. The Provinces Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act principal residence requirement limits short-term rentals to the place where a host lives for the longest time in a calendar year plus one additional unit on that same property. The intent of this requirement is to ensure an adequate supply of long-term housing options for British Columbians. There are many small communities where the principal residence requirement does not apply, such as communities with less than 10,000 residents. Additionally, communities with a vacancy rate of three percent or more for a two-year period are able to opt out - in 2024, both Dawson Creek and Fort St. John received provincial approval to opt out of the principal residence requirement. Long-term housing is a provincial priority; the Provinces approach to regulating short-term rentals has already helped lower rents by almost nine per cent in many major communities since the changes were put in place.