The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) says its rules and regulations will not be significantly impacted by the B.C. government’s new short-term rental (STR) registration system.
On May 1, 2025, all STR hosts in B.C. must have their listings registered along with a provincial registration number.
RDEK Planning Supervisor Karen Macleod says the local government’s existing regulations will be unchanged by the new provincial registry.
“The Regional District will continue to issue STR temporary use permits (TUP). It’s actually a very good educational tool for STR operators in the area to be aware of and recognize that they need to engage local governments to ensure whether or not there are any permitting or requirements they need to follow,” said Macleod.
The TUPs issued by the RDEK will run in parallel to the B.C. government’s new Registry.
“The TUPs ensure that the use owners are undertaking with their STR aligns with our bylaws and requirements and the Province just requires them to register,” said Macleod.
“What the Province is looking for is that STR operators are compliant with local governments.”
Macleod says this change will help local governments cooperate with the Province on regulating STRs more effectively.
“This will be an opportunity to make sure we can follow up with STR operators who may not be part of our TUP program. It’s important to note that not all STR operators necessarily need a TUP with us, but it allows us to do some of those evaluations. If we can get information from the province, they can get information from us, then we can work together,” said Macleod.
“With the exception of this being an additional requirement, if you’re doing everything right, it’s a matter of keeping things steady.”
The B.C. government has set out a timeline for STR platforms to phase in the new registry rules:
- June 2, 2025 – Platforms must stop advertising rental listings that do not have a valid registration number and prevent any new bookings from that host.
- June 23, 2025 – Platforms must cancel all future bookings from hosts who do not have valid provincial registration numbers.
While these deadlines are being phased in, the B.C. government says hosts are still expected to register their listings by May 1.
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