Airbnb, VRBO push up B.C. rental prices, report suggests

A new report is shining light on how the proliferation of short-term rentals like Airbnb and VRBO in B.C. is affecting the province’s rental market.

The report, “The housing impacts of short-term rentals in British Columbia’s regions,” was commissioned by the BC Hotel Association and was published by Dr. David Wachsmuth, a McGill University professor with the Urban Politics and Governance research group.

Looking at a snapshot of B.C.’s short-term rental situation as of June 2023, the report found that there were around 28,510 listings per day provincewide. Those listings, the report found, were “dominated” by commercial operators — those who do not live in the residence they are renting.

With a closer look, those commercial operators are said to make up the top 10 per cent of hosts in the province overall, accounting for nearly half of the overall revenue hosts had generated from short-term rentals. The report says the top one per cent of hosts earned about 20 per cent of overall revenue from the rentals.

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Further, nearly half (48.4 per cent) of all listings in June of this year were from hosts who had more than one listing, making up over 51 per cent of host revenue.

The paper says that in that June snapshot, short-term rentals are believed to have taken 16,810 housing units off the long-term market, marking a nearly 20 per cent increase from the same month last year.

Following an end to pandemic restrictions in 2022, the report says an uptick in short-term rental listings led to a 16.6 per cent increase in baseline rent in major urban centres in B.C. The paper notes that if the current short-term rental system remains in place, almost 20,000 long-term homes could be lost.

The report outlined some recommendations on how to address some of the trends brought forward. These include a mandatory registration system for those wishing to list a unit on a short-term rental platform that must be verified by the company.

Additionally, the report suggests the B.C. government should work alongside municipalities on enforcing the regulations, urging local governments to consider policies that deter commercial operators from listing in their areas.

B.C. housing minister Ravi Kahlon has previously said legislation targeting short-term rentals in the province will be introduced in the fall legislative session.