An effort by the provincial government to transition short-term rental units into long-term rentals to help ease the housing crisis will have unintended negative consequences, says the owner of a B.C. condo that is rented out on Airbnb.

Anurag Sharma owns a 290-square-foot condo in the Janion building in Victoria. He and his wife purchased the unit as an investment in July for around $400,000.

B次元官网网址淲e have been working for the last 10 years, saved a lot of money cutting corners here and there, and then took a heavy mortgage,B次元官网网址� he said.

Sharma is passionate about his business, and like most people making their first investment, he is nervous about whether they have made the right decision.

B次元官网网址淭rying to make money or to break even, you might take a couple of years to cover the cost of the initial $400K and IB次元官网网址檓 just talking about the initial cost of setting up the interest rate.B次元官网网址�

The province recently unveiled new legislation restricting short-term rentals, a decision that has been criticized by Airbnb and led to a flood of letters to the editor from people who own short-term rental condos in Victoria. These owners say the legislation will hurt the tourism industry, including people who run businesses specializing in cleaning short-term rental units.

Sharma does not understand why the legislation targets people who own legal non-conforming short-term suites as they are already required to pay for a City of Victoria Short Term Rental Business Licence for $2,500.

B次元官网网址淭he money which landlords contribute to the City of Victoria by paying the licences and the taxes is more than one and a half million,B次元官网网址� Sharma said.

The changes in the new will force more landlords out of the rental market and might not have the desired result of increasing housing stock, said Sharma.

B次元官网网址淢any landlords in this building will not do it. They will say, B次元官网网址極K, I will use it for myself on the weekends.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

The owner of a Victoria duplex, Wendy Shi, told Black Press Media the new legislation threatens her future.

B次元官网网址淚 just feel very hurt that I purchased a legal non-conforming unit,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 was under the impression that itB次元官网网址檚 a promise made by the city and the province that you can continue to operate this property the way you want legally.B次元官网网址�

Like Sharma, Shi has paid a lot of taxes and fees.

B次元官网网址淓ventually, $2,500 licensing fee, plus $2,000 GST, plus around $5-6,000 occupancy tax.B次元官网网址�

Combined, she said, this will be around $10,000 that will go to the province, which it already uses to fund affordable housing.

Shi is concerned about the research methodology used and the BC Hotel AssociationB次元官网网址檚 research funding regarding the short-term rental market.

B次元官网网址淚f the research is funded by the government, we might not be as angry, but weB次元官网网址檙e also very familiar with hotels,B次元官网网址� Shi said. B次元官网网址淏ecause we are the competition.B次元官网网址�

Under the changes, people will limit short-term rentals to the hostB次元官网网址檚 principal residence and one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit. Motels and hotels will be exempt from the new law.

The law is well-intentioned, said Brendan Harris, who owns a single-bedroom Airbnb unit in Victoria.

The aim of cracking down on people who own three or four or more condos is a good thing and needs to have limitations on them, but this legislation paints people who are just trying to make a living as villains, he said.

B次元官网网址淚 resent that local and provincial government frames me as a cheat who profiteers on othersB次元官网网址� housing misery,B次元官网网址� Harris said. B次元官网网址淭his is a deep mischaracterization of the hard work we do and the service we provide.B次元官网网址�

The problem with this legislation is it casts such a wide net, catching everything in sight, and is getting families like HarrisB次元官网网址檚 caught in the middle.

B次元官网网址淚 agree with its intention to make B.C.B次元官网网址檚 outrageous housing market more accessible. However, the person that ends up with our condo due to this legislation does so at my familyB次元官网网址檚 expense.B次元官网网址�

Airbnb has meant Harris and his family can own a home, and the income received from his condo and the current law change will take this away.

B次元官网网址淗omeownership has barely been attainable in our lifetimes. Airbnb has facilitated small business ownership for us and allowed us to own a home.B次元官网网址�

Many think wealthy relatives handed people like Sharma the money, but the reality is that they came to Canada with nothing and had to build their income.

B次元官网网址淢y wife and I moved to Canada in 2016-17 and came from zero,B次元官网网址� Sharma said. B次元官网网址淲e started doing all sorts of chores, worked our way up, like in the last six or seven years, cutting corners, skipping meals.B次元官网网址�

He does not understand why the law needs to change, with cities like Seattle and Portland using the same model that existed in Victoria to fund its affordable housing.

B次元官网网址淚n cities where things like this happened, like New York, they banned the Airbnbs. People went underground and went through other routes to find short-term rentals.B次元官网网址�

Everything with this law change feels very rushed, Sharma said, and has blurred how he sees the government.

B次元官网网址淭he unintended consequences, what we are saying here is, we donB次元官网网址檛 trust the lawmakers because they can change the law the very next day.B次元官网网址�

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