Vancouver City Council Votes to Increase Short-Term Rental License Prices by Tenfold

Vancouver city councilors voted to increase the price of a license for short-term rentals tenfold, from $109 to $1,000, among other measures targeting Uber and even dog licenses.

The City’s initiative is seen as a barrier for certain owners of the 4,500 accommodations temporarily rented in Vancouver on sites like Airbnb. Patrick Baldwinwho has been an Airbnb host for five years, says the new permit price will harm his family’s ability to continue living in Vancouver, while the income generated with the platform allowed him to make ends meet.

In a city where homeownership is almost impossible for young families, we have been able to make it work for us, but these changes will make it difficult to access property or pay the mortgage.declares the computer engineer. It feels like a slap in the face.

Vancouver looking for financial means

This increase is part of a range of measures approved by the municipal council on Wednesday to avoid having to increase the property tax by 9% in the 2024 budget to balance the city’s finances. The amounts recovered with this increase are equivalent to 1.4% of the initially projected property tax increase.

The dog license will increase by $12, and the business license will increase from $171 to $250. The proposal for short-term rental permits was initially an increase to $450 but Councilman Lenny Zhou suggested a change and an increase to $1,000.

In a publication on the social network TwitterLenny Zhou suggests that this additional income will be used to improve supervision, invest in technology and promote public awareness on illegal short-term rentals in the city.

Short-term rentals have generated their share of controversy, from neighborhood noise management to safety concerns and the removal of affordable housing in several cities experiencing a housing crisis.

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Airbnb states that it is spectacular and unnecessary

In a written statement, Airbnb affirms that the explosion in the price of permits will be prohibitive for owners. Along with the primary residence restriction, this dramatic and unnecessary price increase will hurt average Vancouver residents trying to make ends meet in a city where living is already very expensiveécrit Nathan Rotmanregional director of public policies ofAirbnb.

Airbnb affirms that this price far exceeds what has already been established in other municipalities, such as Toronto and Quebec, where the cost of a permit is $53 and $50 respectively. The price for a short-term rental permit Whistler is $190.

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Councillor Adriane Carr said she voted in favor of the increase because hosts can offset the cost of the permit by renting out their accommodation. The ability to recoup this increase far outweighs the priceshe says, emphasizing that municipal staff need more resources to strengthen the regulations around short-term rentals.

Airbnb explains that the average price for a rental in Vancouver is $224 per night. Since 1^is February, anyone who books a hotel room or Airbnb in Vancouver must pay a special tax of 2.5%. This measure was established to pay for the costs generated by hosting the Soccer World Cup in 2026.

The province is also studying the possibility of tightening the screws on type platforms Airbnb as well as companies like Uber phew Lyft.

With information from Chad Pawson