Strata Property Regulation amended to increase fines for breaches of short-term accommodation bylaws
July 18, 2018
BY Kevin Zakreski
The ministry of municipal affairs and housing has announced today that the Strata Property Regulation has been amended to increase the maximum fines that may be applied to a breach of a strata corporation’s short-term accommodation bylaws.
The amended regulation (PDF) will set the maximum fine at “$1 000 for each contravention” of “a bylaw that prohibits or limits use of all or part of a residential strata lot for remuneration as vacation, travel or temporary accommodation.” It will also provide that “the maximum frequency that a strata corporation may set out in its bylaws for the imposition of a fine for a continuing contravention” of such a bylaw is to be “daily.” (In all other cases, the period for a continuing contravention under section 132 of the Strata Property Act remains seven days.)
The ministry’s announcement explained the rationale for the changes:
Currently, strata corporations can pass bylaws that restrict or ban short-term rentals, and fine owners or residents who are not complying. Maximum fines of $200 per week will be raised to up to $1,000 a day, to discourage unwanted short-term rental activity.
Short-term rentals have put significant pressure on vacancy rates, rents and home prices for people around British Columbia. Short-term rentals can also sometimes mean unacceptable levels of noise, damage to common property, and security issues in strata communities.
The amended regulation is scheduled to come into force on 30 November 2018.
