Vancouver’s short-term rental listings drop by half after new rules introduced

VANCOUVER — The City of Vancouver says the number of short-term rentals listed online has dropped by almost half since new rules came into effect requiring operators to have a business licence.

The city says there are 3,742 active listings on sites like Airbnb, compared with about 6,600 in April, when the regulations were announced.

As of Sept. 1, operators must have a business licence, which costs $49 annually, and must include the licence number in their listing.

Operators can only advertise their main residence and must have permission from their landlord or condo board, or face fines up to $1,000 per offence on each platform where the rental is advertised — a shift from the initial fine announcement of up to $1,000 per day.

The city says it has one of the highest initial compliance rates by any major city globally, with 2,640 short-term licences issued, representing about 70 per cent of existing listings.

It has investigated about the same number of listings and says that since Sept. 1, 294 new addresses have been flagged for non-compliance and are subject to enforcement.

Airbnb has deactivated 2,482 Vancouver-based listings that did not include a business licences as part of its agreement with the city.

The Canadian Press