Report: BC Rents Down in Wake of New Short-Term Rental Rules

Rent costs in several British Columbia communities dropped ‘significantly’ after local governments imposed stricter regulations on short-term rentals. “The rents as of October, 2023, were lower by $110 a month compared with the previous year in 52 key neighbourhoods – down to $1,821 from $1,931 – according to a statistical analysis by McGill University associate professor David Wachsmuth and researcher Cloé St.-Hilaire. In Vancouver, it is $147 a month less on average,” writes Frances Bula in The Globe and Mail.

In addition to local regulations, new provincial laws went into effect this May in B.C. cities of over 10,000 people not classified as ‘resort communities.’ “They limit owners to renting out space in their principal residence only if the owner is away for a short period of time or is renting out a room while continuing to live there.” Similar laws have been in place in Vancouver and other cities, but the provincial regulations represent the largest-scale effort to regulate STRs.