Short-Term Rental Registry To Deliver More Homes, Ensure Hosts Follow Rules

The Province is launching a new short-term rental (STR) registry.

“We are taking action to help more people find a home in the communities they love by reining in speculators who are operating illegally,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs.

“The launch of the registry is the next step to provide more long-term homes for people, giving hosts who are playing by the rules the ability to continue to legally operate and welcome guests while further cracking down on speculators who are breaking the rules.”

Anyone operating a short-term rental in B.C. and listing on platforms, such as Airbnb, Vrbo and others, will be required to register with the Province, including hosts operating outside areas with the principal-residence requirement.

To register, hosts need to complete an online application at Government of British Columbia.

Hosts will receive a provincial registration number that will need to be displayed on all online listings in B.C., effective May 1st.

Those who don’t will have their listings taken down as of June 1, 2025.

Registration fees are:

• $100 per year for an STR in which the host lives, such as a whole home the host rents out while away or a bedroom within it
• $450 per year if the host does not live in the STR, such as a secondary suite, cottage or laneway home
• $600 per year for an entire strata hotel

The Province says launching the registry is a step that gives it another tool to help enforce rules and to ensure mini-hotel operators and people with multiple, illegal listings are no longer allowed to operate.