What does rental-only zoning or a housing agreement on title mean for a BC property?

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A council can zone homes in a multi-family building for rental only, and a housing agreement noted on title can fix who may live there and the rent; both bind every later owner. Two tools let a BC council keep homes as rentals. A zoning bylaw can limit the form of tenure to rental, so the homes can't be sold to people who live in them, and a housing agreement, signed by the owner and adopted by bylaw, can set the tenure, who may live there and the rents. Neither shows on a listing's photos, and both stay with the land when it's sold. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. Rental tenure zoning: A zoning bylaw may limit the form of tenure to residential rental tenure within a zone or part of a zone, where multi-family residential use is permitted; the limit may cover all of a building's homes or a specified number, portion or percentage of them (Local Government Act s. 481.1). It sets who may occupy the homes, not who may own them, so a rental building can still be sold as a rental building (our reading). Homes already owner-occupied: New Westminster, the first city to zone existing buildings this way (its Bylaws No. 8078 and 8123, 2019), says a unit already occupied by its owner when the zoning is put in place keeps that right, for that owner and every later one. Whether another council's bylaw words it the same way is in its own text (our reading). Stratas and co-ops: Rental tenure zoning doesn't affect a strata corporation's lawful bylaws under the Strata Property Act's rentals part or a housing co-op's lawful rules on renting (Local Government Act s. 481.2). Since 2022 a strata corporation may not restrict the rental of a strata lot at all (Strata Property Act s. 141). No variance: A development variance permit can't vary how a zoning bylaw applies to residential rental tenure (Local Government Act s. 498 (2) (a.1)), so lifting the limit takes a rezoning. Housing agreements: A local government may, by bylaw, enter into a housing agreement with an owner covering the form of tenure, the classes of people who may occupy the homes, how they're managed and offered, and the rents and lease, sale or share prices with how they may rise (Local Government Act s. 483 (1), (2)). It can't change the use or density the zone allows (s. 483 (3)) and can be amended only by a bylaw adopted with the owner's consent (s. 483 (4)). On the title: Once a housing agreement is made or amended, the local government files a notice in the land title office, the registrar notes it on the title, and the agreement then binds everyone who acquires an interest in the land (Local Government Act s. 483 (5) to (7)). Neither the registrar nor the assurance fund is liable if the note is missed (s. 483 (8)), so ask the council as well as searching the title (our reading). Where you meet them: Councils most often take a housing agreement when they rezone for more homes, a secondary suite or a garden suite, or below-market units in a new building, and set rental tenure on purpose-built rental sites (our reading). A presale or resale unit under a housing agreement may carry a resale price limit or a rule on who may buy it. Vancouver: The City of Vancouver zones under the Vancouver Charter, not the Local Government Act; we haven't read its rental tenure or housing agreement sections, so ask the City. What it means for a buyer: A home zoned rental only can't be your own home unless it falls in an exception, and a lender, an appraiser and the next buyer will weigh that; a housing agreement can cap the rent you charge or the price you sell at. Read the agreement itself, not only the note on title (our reading).

What does rental-only zoning or a housing agreement on title mean for a BC property?

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