Will province allow quick return of 700 short term rental units in Kelowna?

Updated Wednesday 12:30 p.m.

The City of Kelowna has sent off its formal request to the provincial government for a quick exemption to short-term rental rules.

That's for 701 condo units previously used principally for short-term rental before the government imposed restrictions due to the housing crisis a few years back.

It remains to be seen if and when the city will get the rapid approval, with the government non-committal at this stage.

The reason for Kelowna's move is because the city now has a vacancy rate of almost seven per cent, far in excess of the three per cent threshold the province sets for cities to restrict such short-term rentals.

The major motivation is that Kelowna needs the accommodation in time for big tourism draws, one of which is just four months away: the Memorial Cup in May, as well as the B.C. Summer Games.

On Monday city councillors made it clear Kelowna is a leader in recent affordable and long-term rental initiatives, helping to get the vacancy rate up.

It is that level of cooperation with provincial policies they hope will see Victoria give an expedited go-ahead for the exemption.

No precedent for accelerated opt-out

The current regulatory process allows the province to offer an exemption, but only in November this year.

The Act states: Local governments looking to opt out must request this by March 31, 2026. Once approved later that spring by Cabinet, any changes take effect on November 1 of that same year.

Approval in November would be too late to exploit a big year for the city's tourism and associated business sectors.

Single family homes and properties in designated 'rental zones' will not be part of the request.

Some 600 other units in the city are already allowed to offer short-term rentals if that is a so-called 'secondary use' ; in other words the principal owner remains in the property during the rental.

Government response

In response to Kelowna10 asking if they would approve an expedited approval for the opt-out, the government was non-committal.

In an email statement Wednesday, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, Christine Boyle, said in part, the province is in a housing crisis and "...we need to make sure that more homes are being used to house people, and not for speculators"

However, she added, short-term rentals (STR) are an important part of the tourism sector.

"The rules were designed so that communities are able to decide whether they want to allow short term rentals outside of people’s principal residence once they can sustain an over 3 per cent vacancy rate for two consecutive years – as is the case for Kelowna.”

While this statement supports Kelowna's case for the opt-out, it does not answer whether approval can be given earlier than the November timeframe stipulated in the provincial policy.