Can I rent my property short term (Airbnb, VRBO) in BC?

What the answer means

The rule

Where it applies, a short-term rental (stays under 90 days) is limited to the host's principal residence, where they live day to day, plus one secondary suite or garden suite on the same property. A whole house you don't live in can't be rented short term there.

Where it applies

Municipalities of 10,000 people or more, smaller communities close to them, and communities that opt in. The list changes on June 1 each year after opt-ins and opt-outs.

Where it doesn't

Smaller communities not close to a larger one, resort municipalities and ski resort areas, most regional district electoral areas, most Islands Trust areas (Salt Spring and Gabriola are covered), and land assessed as a farm (class 9; being in the ALR alone isn't enough).

Bed and breakfasts

Allowed under the provincial rule where the host lives on the property. A suite or cottage with its own kitchen isn't a B&B.

Registration

Every host offering stays under 90 days registers each unit with the provincial registry: $100 a year for the host's own home, $450 for a secondary unit. Following local bylaws is a condition of registration.

Local rules

Zoning and business licence bylaws can be stricter than the provincial rule, and many zones don't list short-term rental as a use. A report gives the zone's own rules where we've summarised the bylaw.

This is the provincial rule as the Province lists it. Strata bylaws can also ban short-term rentals in a building. Confirm with the local government (and the strata, if any) before you buy or build.

Source: Principal residence requirement, Province of BC (summarised in our words; list in force from June 1, 2026, page updated September 21, 2026).

Where the principal residence requirement applies

79 of the places with a page here, from the Province's list in force from June 1, 2026.

Abbotsford, Anmore, Belcarra, Bowen Island, Burnaby, Campbell River, Central Saanich, Chilliwack, Coldstream, Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area B, Colwood, Comox, Coquitlam, Courtenay, Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area A, Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area C, Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area F, Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area H, Cranbrook, Creston, Cumberland, Delta, Duncan, Esquimalt, Highlands, Kamloops, Kent, Lake Country, Langford, Langley (District), Langley (City), Maple Ridge, Metchosin, Metro Vancouver, Electoral Area A, Mission, Nanaimo, Nanaimo, Electoral Area B, Nelson, New Westminster, North Cowichan, North Saanich, North Vancouver (District), North Vancouver (City), Oak Bay, Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area D, Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area F, Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area I, Osoyoos, Parksville, Pemberton, Penticton, Pitt Meadows, Port Alberni, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Powell River, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Qualicum Beach, Richmond, Saanich, Salmon Arm, Saltspring Island, Sechelt, Sidney, Sooke, Squamish, Strathcona, Electoral Area B, Strathcona, Electoral Area C, Summerland, Surrey, Terrace, Vancouver, Vernon, Victoria, View Royal, West Vancouver, White Rock, Williams Lake.

Unclear: Elkford, Lytton, McBride, One Hundred Mile House are on neither of the Province's lists (where it applies, and the communities exempt from it). The Province's map settles it.

Every other municipality is on the Province's exempt list, and every other electoral area is exempt. The Province's own map is the final word for a given lot.