Fernie city council has given three readings to a bylaw amendment that will see an increase to short-term rental business license fees.
The city currently collects $100 a year for STR business licenses.
Under the amended bylaw it would increase to $500 for a Principal Residence STR and d $700 for a Condo Hotel business license.
Councillor Ted Shoesmith said there were concerns from people who rarely rent their properties, but he says it’s still an easy cost to recover given Fernie’s STR market.
“While it catches some people in a net for people who may rent it once a year, that’s the sticky thing with laws,” he said.
“That’s not that much of a difference on the scale of costs here, when you can rent a place for 1000 bucks pretty easily for a weekend.”
The bylaw will be up for adoption at a future council meeting.
Council will also be hearing a report on possible changes to regular business license fees in the future.
Be the first to know! Don’t miss out on breaking news and daily updates in your area. Sign up to MyEastKootenayNow News Alerts.
