Tofino votes to opt-in to B.C.’s short-term rental restrictions

The District of Tofino has become the first resort municipality in B.C. to vote to opt-in to the provincial government’s restrictions on short-term rentals.

The district voted 5-2 Tuesday night in favour of restricting rentals to a host’s principal residence and one secondary suite.

“Council requests that the District of Tofino be removed from the exempt list in the short-term rental accommodations regulation and obtain the principal residence requirement,” the motion read.

District staff will submit the request to the Ministry of Housing by March 31.

B.C.’s new rental restrictions will take effect May 1. The province had allowed for some 14 resort municipalities, and municipalities under 10,000 people, to be exempt from the new requirements unless they voted to opt-in.

However, push back on council’s motion had been strong prior to Tuesday’s meeting.

Those who rent their places on sites like Airbnb say it would be a mistake to put many short-term units into the long-term rental stock.

“It wouldn’t make sense for people to live there,” property owner Michael Vogel told CityNews. “There’s only one bathroom, there’s no closet. They’re not really practical if you have a lot of belongings, so they would really only maybe support one person and not in any kind of meaningful way. Whereas, if they’re hosting four or five people, there’s a lot of spin-off in the town.”

With approximately 28,000 short-term rentals in B.C., research from McGill University in 2023 showed that more than 16,000 “entire homes” have been pulled from the housing market to be used as short-term rentals.

“Instead of providing housing for people and communities who need it the most, many of these thousands of homes are being used as investment properties,” Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon noted in October when the legislation was announced.

The province explained at that time that the STR market in B.C. is dominated by a small segment of profit-driven operators (mini-hotel operators), with the “website Inside Air BnB Vancouver [finding] 12 operators in Vancouver have 30 listings or more, with one operator hosting 123 separate listings.”

“Research studies and ministry data show that STRs are diverting thousands of long-term rental homes onto the short-term market, taking away homes people need, and in many communities, adding to the challenge of finding an affordable place to rent,” the province said.