Is your pad going to be empty for a while? Or, do you have a spare space that’s going unused? One way to utilize it and help out short-term residents is to rent out your home.

Thanks to platforms like Vrbo and Airbnb, it’s never been simpler to offer your home for temporary accommodation. But before you get started, it’s important to gather all the info you need to know about BC’s short-term rental regulations.

BC has made changes to their short-term rental laws

In May 2024, the BC Government updated their Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act. Short-term rentals are considered stays of less than 90 days. In over 60 BC communities, short-term rentals are restricted to the host’s principal residence and one secondary suite or what is known as an “accessory dwelling unit” on the same property.

If you live in one of these communities, this means:

• You can:
  Rent your home to short-term guests if it is your primary place of residence. This means you can rent out the whole place while you’re away, a spare room in your primary residence or one secondary suite or “accessory dwelling unit” on the property. That includes a laneway house, carriage house, room above garage, basement suite or cabin on your property.
• You cannot:
  Rent your home to short-term guests if it’s not your primary residence – like an investment property or some vacation homes. You cannot rent more than one secondary suite or “accessory dwelling unit” on the property.

BC’s largest communities are affected

Here’s the list of BC communities affected by these changes to short-term rentals and you’ll find these communities on an interactive map. In short, your community is on the list if it has over 10,000 people or is close to a larger community.

These communities, among others, include Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Greater Vancouver, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Nelson, Penticton, Prince George, Sechelt, Vernon and Victoria.

There are exceptions to the rules

Some types of accommodation are exempt from the principal residence requirement. That’s because they were never meant to be long-term residences or restrictions on their ownership or use makes them unsuitable as long-term housing.

These include:

• Certain strata-titled hotels or motels (check out information for strata-titled hotels or motels)
• Timeshare properties
• Home exchanges
• Fractional ownership properties, where the owner may not use the property as a principal residence
• Lodges, e.g., overnight accommodations provided by an operator of outdoor recreational activities (hunting, fishing, water sports)
• Living accommodations for students or employees of an educational institution that’s owned or operated by the institution or a non-profit
• Strata corporation guest suites

Complete definitions for everything listed above can be found here.

Why the changes?

There’s a housing and affordability crisis in Canada and it’s especially serious in British Columbia. Last year in BC, about 16,000 entire homes were used as short-term rentals for most of the year. So, instead of providing housing to British Columbians who are long-term tenants, many homeowners rented their homes to travellers who aren’t citizens of BC or Canada. These provincial changes are designed to return 10s of thousands of homes to the BC housing market, so residents can find long-term places to live.

People love to visit BC

With high-profile events like concerts, festivals, big sports events (the Canucks play 41 home games each season), holidays and the extremely busy summer season, often hotels are full and there’s no better time to cash in on short-term rentals.

These peak periods attract visitors from all over, eager to find a comfortable and convenient place to stay. Of course, you can’t just list your property and watch the bookings roll in. If you’re considering becoming a short-term rental host, make sure you have all the information you need.

To rent your home to short-term guests, you should:

• Follow the provincial principal residence requirements, where applicable. If you do not, there are fines for non-compliance.
• Check if there are additional requirements for your property type and location, as bylaws and requirements may differ depending on local jurisdictions. Some local governments require hosts to display a valid business licence number on their listing.
• Sign up with your chosen short-term rental platform and build your property profile. You’ll need to share your legal identity and tax info with the platform.
• Be prepared for the provincial registry to launch in early 2025. This will require short-term rental hosts and platforms to register with their provincial registration number within six months. You’ll be required to display this registration number on any short-term rental listings.
• Make sure your home insurance covers you for short-term rentals.
• Get ready to deliver a comfortable stay for your guests to make sure the five-star reviews come rolling in.

Are you covered for short-term rentals?

Make sure to review your current home insurance coverage to learn if your existing policy covers you for short-term renting. Most standard policies do not.

A short-term rental coverage add-on will typically provide coverage for many hosts’ biggest concerns such as legal liability scenarios (like a guest getting injured in your short-term rental), loss or damage to your building, personal property and renters’ property (up to a limit), loss of rental income and intentional or criminal acts by a guest.

Contact your home insurance provider to have this coverage added to your policy if you need.

Choose a home insurance provider you can count on

It's natural to feel nervous welcoming your first short-term guests into your home, but it pays to remember majority of the time stays go smoothly.

Have confidence as a host when you have BCAA Home Insurance with Short Term Rental Coverage, knowing BCAA paid out over 95% of claims related to fire, water, weather and theft*. BCAA Members can save up to 20%**, plus save an additional 5% in your first year when you buy online.

Get a free, online quote today at bcaa.com/home or speak to one of our expert advisors to learn if BCAA Home Insurance's Short Term Rental Coverage is right for you.