Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas got a bit of a heads-up on the province’s plan to limit short-term rentals.
He had a discussion about the new legislation with Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon when he was in the city last week (Oct. 12) for an announcement regarding housing units for homeless individuals.
READ MORE: Protesters make presence known during homeless housing announcement at Kelowna City Hall
“We had the opportunity of kind of conceptually reviewing what was potential being put forward and how it would look at affecting this community,” Dyas added.
Legislation brought in by the province on Oct. 16, will limit short-term rentals in many communities across B.C.
“This is going to have an immediate impact on our community and a good impact from a standpoint of accessibility with regards to units that become available and also affordability.”
Dyas said the city has about 2,400 short-term rental units, with nearly half of them registered.
For now, the new rules apply to primary residences.
“I know there are going to be people not happy with this because their properties have become an investment or capital for them,” Dyas said. “But the province did this right across the board and then said to municipalities here’s the base and you can decide where you want to go from the base.”
The mayor pointed out that city staff was already working on a short-term rental policy.
“So now what they will do is look at where ours was, what the province has implemented, and either align with that or make changes and alterations to it along the way.”
READ MORE: Province to limit short-term rentals in some B.C. communities, but not all
@GaryBarnes109
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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