Affordable B.C. taxpayer-supported rental listed on Airbnb, Expedia in Merritt

A taxpayer-supported development in B.C., built to be affordable rental housing, has been listed on short-term vacation rental sites like Airbnb and Expedia, and critics are demanding to know why it is being offered to tourists.

The new 75-unit apartment in Merritt, in B.C.’s Interior, was built in partnership with Olympic Villas and through BC Housing’s HousingHub program. Tenants began moving in late last year.

According to a release from the provincial government, monthly rents range from $2,380 for a three-bedroom apartment to $1,020 for a studio.

A taxpayer-supported development in B.C., built to be affordable rental housing, has been listed on short-term vacation rental sites (AirBnB)

And it is one of those studios that has apparently shown up on Airbnb, with a five-night stay totalling $864, including taxes and fees. On Expedia, the unit is available $743 for five nights.

It seems the host tenant is trying to make a substantial profit, and Liberal MLA Karin Kirkpatrick, B.C.’s Shadow Minister for Housing, says this hardly meets the criteria for affordable housing.

“This is just another example of not having proper oversight on a project,” Kirkpatrick told CityNews. “The purpose of the HousingHub is to provide financing so that developers — either non-profit or for-profit — can build affordable housing units.”

She says if the provincial government provides low-interest financing for a project, it must be connected to the provision of true, affordable housing.

“Listing them on Airbnb is egregious and clearly outside the mandate of this loan program … it’s stunning that one would even have to dictate that.”

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Kirkpatrick says the province has invested $2 billion in the HousingHub model but calls the outcomes abysmal.

“The model does not make sense for developers to come in and actually build the housing. It’s another example of the overall strategy … not working.”

The provincial government says HousingHub was created in 2018 and works with communities and non-profit and private-sector developers to increase the supply of rental housing and homeownership options for middle-income British Columbians.

The province does not directly fund HousingHub projects. Instead, it provides low-cost financing for developers to build new housing with developers committing to pass construction-cost savings on to tenants and homeowners through more affordable rents and ownership opportunities.

Victoria provided approximately $16.6 million in low-interest financing for the Olympic Villa project.

BC Housing short-term rental rules clear: minister

B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the rules are clear when it comes to short-term rentals in BC Housing units.

“All of our units for BC Housing come with a covenant in place to ensure that it does not go on AirBnB. No short-term rentals are allowed,” he said Thursday.

“Now, if there is a case where somebody is breaking the rules, we’ve asked BC Housing to follow up to make sure that everyone is complying.”

Speaking anonymously with CityNews, one person with Olympic Villa management says the building has two furnished units which they rent out by the month, adding the day rate on AirBnB and Expedia was an “error.”

However, BC Liberal Leader Kevin Flacon says the challenge in regulating short-term rentals in government-supported housing is beyond just this one building.

“It goes back to a government who has a fundamental challenge with handling things in a competent way,” he said in the Legislature.

Falcon adds this possible oversight speaks to BC Housing’s challenges.

“There’s got to be follow up and apparently this government never thought about that,” he said.

-With files from James Paracy and Hana Mae Nassar