If you havenB次元官网网址檛 jumped on the AirBnB wagon yet, it may be too late.
Victoria council is discussing a bylaw amendment tonight that would ban new short-term rentals (STRs) across the city, a move that aims to prevent absentee property owners from renting out their space on a short-term basis and open up the long-term rental market.
The proposed changes would limit short-term rentals to one or two bedrooms within an already occupied, self-contained home, allowing homeowners to supplement their income while preventing new units from becoming STRs. City bylaws currently allow zones for B次元官网网址渢ransient accommodationB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts, in most cases B次元官网网址� but the amendment would remove vacation rentals from the list of available uses for that land, most of which are located downtown.
But if youB次元官网网址檙e hoping for a quick fix to the rental accommodation shortage, changes may be a long way off.
The bylaw will only apply to new uses, not existing ones. Those currently legally operating short-term rentals will be allowed to continue because of the legal non-conforming use provision in B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Local Government Act.
RELATED:
Staff are recommending that council give first and second reading to the proposed bylaw amendment and send the matter to public hearing.
City staff are currently working on creating the regulatory framework to enforce STR bylaws, including fines and new licensing fees. For now, all the city can do to prevent new ones from popping up is to remove STRs from acceptable land use across the board.
