Marv Gandall says that living in one of the largest residential buildings in Victoria a year ago meant a parade of people with suitcases, parking with stuffed visitors and slow elevators.
Gandall, who has lived at the time in the Yates Complex for a decade, described long waits, the packages disappeared and scratched the walls of the high number of visitors who use some of their 157 units as short -term rentals.
He said the residents began calling their building a “Ghost Hotel.”
“The main concern was interruption, maintenance problems and the problem of theft. We had more frequent robberies in our storage lockers,” he said.
“There was some vandalism in Parkade, and we believe it was also because when you have short -term tenants, it is much easier for short -term tenants than other people access the building.”
In the year since British Columbia implemented regulations that took energetic measures against short -term rentals, Gandall said things had improved, and seemed to be used more units of era in the long term. But it has not completely prevented people from trying to dodge the rules.
“My impression is that since the approval of the provincial legislation last May, along with some initiatives of the Local City Council, there has been a dip in the remarkable activity (short -term rental), not only at the time, but also when I have spoken with other residents worried in some of the other important highs,” he said.
The Housing Minister declares victory. Experts warn that it is not so simple
The regulations that entered into force on May 1, 2024 cover most communities of more than 10,000 people. The short -term rentals restricted to the main residences, a secondary suite or a structure such as a lane house on the property.
BC Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon is declaring the victory, pointing out rents and thousands of units withdrawn from websites such as Airbnb and VRBO. But experts say that market forces are too complex to prove a factor for changes.
Kahlon said that thousands of properties that used to be on short -term rental websites are now on the market or are used as long -term rentals.
“All my colleagues have stories of their communities of people who are moving to what used to be a short -term rental and is now available for long -term families,” said the minister in an interview earlier this month.
“And we are seeing that rentals fall throughout the province, in each community.”
The owners have until May 1 to add their properties to a record of the province to be able to use them legally for short -term rental.
Kahlon said approximately 15,000 properties were in the registry at the beginning of April, and his office reported that more than $ 3 million had been collected in registration rates.
“Before the registration was launched, we estimate that approximately 22,000 short -term rentals were on the different platforms. We have 15,000 that are registered to date, so that we [have] Around 7,000 operators who have not applied or perhaps have decided not to stay in the business of the short -term rental operation. That is significant, “he said.
The hosts that do not register their properties will have their listings as of May 1 and future reserves are canceled as of June 1.
David Wachsmuth, an assistant urban planning professor at McGill University, has published a report commissioned by the BC Hotel Association that, according to him, shows that the short -term rental rules of the province are working. He says that the number of short -term active rentals in BC has decreased by almost 16 percent (15.8%) since the restrictions entered into force last May. Wachsmuth conducted the research as an independent professional outside his position with the university.
The data provided by the Ministry of Housing shows that from May 2024 to February 2025, many communities saw a significant fall in the number of complete properties listed in short -term rental sites.
The ministry says that such lists in the city of Kelowna fell 31 percent, while those of Victoria fell 24 percent and Vancouver listings fell 22 percent.
The communities also saw an increase in vacancies from 2023 to 2024, according to the data.
Some rentals fall, but not everywhere
The numbers published by the Rental website show that the average rent in BC fell 0.6 percent year after year in March, according to the listings published on the site, while Vancouver saw a drop of 5.7 percent. It was the 16th consecutive decrease in apartment rentals in the city, which has had several short -term rental rules since 2018, although it is still the most expensive place in Canada to rent.
The monthly website report says that the average rental in Canada fell 2.8 percent to $ 2,119 in March. The rental of apartments in Toronto fell 6.9 percent, the 14th consecutive decrease in the city, which also recently implemented restrictions on short -term rentals.
But it has not been a unidirectional movement. The rent in Victoria increased by three percent in March. And in February, the mortgage and housing corporation of Canada predicted that although BC would see higher vacancies rates in the coming years due to lower population growth, the average rentals would increase as the market new and the highest and highest price reach the market.
The most recent rental market report of the Corporation, for the fall of 2024, said that Vancouver’s average rent for a two bedroom apartment increased 5.5 percent in October of the previous year, although that growth rate had slowed down.
Andy Yan, director of the city program of the Simon Fraser University, said that while some data suggest that rental prices and condominiums have dropped, there are too many competitors to be able to specifically prove the short -term rental rules.
Other factors could include interest rates, the general economic situation or changes in immigration, he said.
“There is a lot of noise trying to discover how the signal is seen. And I think that is the great challenge, really trying to filter what happened in the year since BC adopted the short -term rental laws,” he said.
Will Gladman, with the Vancouver tenant union, said that its members have not been reporting rental decreases, but are being hit “quite reliably” with the increases.
He said that even if some numbers suggest that rentals are going down slightly, the cost of living in the city is still very high.
“[It’s] Still incredibly expensive and far from the scope, even for people who obtain a rather decent income in the city, “he said.
Gladman said the group did not expect changes in short -term rentals to make a significant difference, although they are in favor of any improvement that does not imply displacing people from their homes.
“Those were units that, from our perspective, were wasted and are now becoming homes for people. So obviously, that is positive,” he said.
“But when it has a provincial government that is trying to trust this type of adjustments on the offer side and, nevertheless, to trust the market to provide some type of affordable housing strategy, we would never expect it to go very far.”
Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist of the BC Real Estate Association, said that while the government’s objective to increase housing supply is understandable, the rules may have done more damage than well in general, considering the impact on tourism.
He said that reducing decreases have more to do with factors such as new units that reach market growth and population, particularly among groups with high rents, such as international students and temporary foreign workers.
“[It’s] Difficult to determine how much impact [the new law has had]. My assumption is quite small. It is certainly affecting things in tourism. It is much more expensive to get a hotel now in many areas. There are not many options. But I don’t think I had a great impact on things like the affordability of rent, “he said.
In Victoria, Gandall was concerned that as hotel prices climb, the government can be tempted to reverse some short -term rental rules.
In an interview this week with Chek News, BC Prime Minister David Eby said that when the province returns to healthy rental levels in communities, “the government would reduce the restrictions on short -term rentals.
Gandall said Airbnbs still runs in his building. He also suspects that not everyone is being honest when they claim a unit as their main residence.
But Kahlon said the government goes through a long process to confirm if a short -term rent qualifies.
The minister said that there will always be people looking for ways to break the rules, but that fines, $ 5,000 per day for those who are trapped, are a significant deterrent element.
“I think we are going to see other provinces that will move around the same direction as us,” he said.
“And we listen to our particular local government partners that this system is working much better in their communities, and we will continue on this path because it is right to ensure that people have access to affordable homes in our communities.”
