Cranbrook officials said British Columbia’s new short-term rental legislation will change how they function and operate within the city.
B.C.’s new Short Term Rentals Accommodation Act requires communities with a population over 10,000 to follow new principal residence requirements.
This means short-term rentals are limited to the host’s primary residence plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit.
There are exceptions to the provincial legislation, but Cranbrook does not currently meet that criteria.
“If a municipality has a vacancy rate above 3%, those municipalities may request exemption from the principal residence requirement,” said city officials. “As per the most recent CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) data, the City of Cranbrook has a 0.9% vacancy rate.”
The City of Cranbrook does not have its own restrictions on short-term rentals.
The proposed act is still only at the first reading in the B.C. Legislature, and if given Royal Assent, the principal residence requirement would come into effect on May 1, 2024.
More: Legislation to introduce stricter rules on short-term rentals in BC (Oct 16, 2023)