Short-Term Rentals in BC: The Principal Residence Rule

Short-term rentals can look like an easy way to help pay for a condo or a second home, but in most of the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley, BC's principal residence rule limits them to the home you live in and one suite on the same property. Here is how the rule works, along with the provincial registry, city licences, strata bylaws and taxes, so you can check a property before you count on that income.

The short version

What counts as a short-term rental

The Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act received Royal Assent on October 26, 2023, and its parts took effect in stages through 2025. It defines a short-term rental as accommodation offered to members of the public, for money, for a period of less than 90 consecutive days. The Residential Tenancy Act, which covers tenancies, doesn't apply to vacation or travel accommodation.

The principal residence rule

Since May 1, 2024, in communities where the requirement applies, short-term rentals can be offered only in these places:

• Your principal residence. Under the Act, it is where you live for longer in a calendar year than anywhere else. You can rent out bedrooms in it, or the whole home while you are away.
• One suite on the same property. That means one secondary suite or one accessory dwelling unit, such as a laneway home or garden suite, on the property where you live.

That rules out, for example, an investment condo or a house where you don't live. The Province also ended legal non-conforming use protection for short-term rentals, so a rental can't carry on under a city's bylaws just because it was operating before the rules changed. A seller's booking history doesn't make a home eligible for a new owner.

Where the rule applies

The requirement applies in municipalities with 10,000 or more people and in smaller ones within 15 km of a larger municipality. A local government can ask to opt out if its rental vacancy rate has been 3% or more for two years in a row, and exempt communities can ask to opt in.

• Covered. As of June 1, 2026, the Province's list includes Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Delta, White Rock, both Langleys, the Tri-Cities, Anmore and Belcarra, the City and District of North Vancouver, West Vancouver, New Westminster, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission.
• Not covered. Lions Bay, Hope and Harrison Hot Springs are on the exempt list, as are most regional district electoral areas and resort areas. Local zoning still applies there.
• Exempt property types. Hotels and motels fall outside the Act. Certain strata hotels, fractional ownership properties and land classed as farm for assessment are exempt from the principal residence rule but must still register. Being in the Agricultural Land Reserve isn't enough on its own.

The Province's online map shows where the rule applies, though the regulation is the final word.

The provincial registry and the platforms

The Province launched its short-term rental registry in January 2025. Hosts register online, including in areas where the principal residence rule doesn't apply, and renew every year.

• Fees. $100 a year where you live, whether you rent bedrooms or the whole home while you are away, and $450 a year for a unit you don't live in, such as a suite, an accessory dwelling unit or, where the principal residence rule doesn't apply, a second property.
• Proof. Where the rule applies, you have to show that the home is your principal residence, and upload a business licence if your local government requires one.
• Numbers on listings. Since May 1, 2025, every listing must show the provincial registration number, plus a business licence number where the local government requires a licence.
• What platforms do. They check registration numbers against the registry. Since June 2, 2025, a listing without a valid number can't be advertised or take new bookings, and since June 23, 2025, platforms must cancel future bookings for those hosts. They also share listing data with the Province monthly and must remove a listing without a required business licence when the local government asks.
• Enforcement. The Province's Compliance and Enforcement Unit can investigate, issue compliance orders and impose administrative penalties.

City licences and strata bylaws

The provincial rules are a minimum. Local governments can require a business licence and limit short-term rentals in their bylaws, and since the Act passed in October 2023, local ticket fines for short-term rental bylaw offences can reach $3,000 per infraction, per day. Vancouver is an example of a stricter city:

• A City licence. You need a short-term rental licence, with an annual fee of more than $1,000 in 2026, as well as your provincial registration.
• Principal residence only. You can rent a secondary suite or laneway home only if it is the unit you live in, and you can't rent both the main house and the suite.
• Approvals. You need written approval from your strata if the home is in one, and from your landlord if you rent, before you apply, and the licence number must appear in every listing.

Strata bylaws can go further still. A strata can restrict or ban short-term rentals with a 3/4 vote, even where the Province and the city allow them, and fine up to $1,000 a day. I explain what else bylaws can and can't say in Strata Bylaws in BC.

Taxes on short-term rental income

• Income tax. The CRA treats the income as rental income on Form T776, or may treat it as business income if you provide extra services such as cleaning or meals. Since the 2024 tax year, expenses for a short-term rental can't be deducted for the days it doesn't meet provincial or municipal rules, including registration and licensing.
• PST and MRDT. Short-term accommodation generally carries 8% PST, plus up to 3% Municipal and Regional District Tax where a community has it. In Vancouver, an extra 2.5% Major Events MRDT applies until January 31, 2030. A platform that collects payment generally collects and remits these taxes for bookings made through it, but you generally must register to collect them on bookings you take directly. Stays of 27 days or more are exempt.
• GST. Stays of less than a month are taxable. If you earn more than $30,000 in gross revenue from accommodation sharing over four calendar quarters, you must register for, collect and remit GST. For hosts who aren't registered, platforms collect it.
• Speculation and vacancy tax. Nightly and weekly stays don't count toward the rental exemption, which needs tenancies of at least a month. I cover who declares and pays in BC's Speculation and Vacancy Tax.

Before you count on rental income

• Check the address. Look at the Province's list and map, then the city's zoning and licence rules.
• Be honest about where you will live. If the home won't be your principal residence, a short-term rental generally isn't an option in a covered community, whatever the seller did before.
• Read the strata documents. Check the bylaws, rules and recent minutes for short-term rental bans and fines before you remove subjects. My guide to the strata documents to read first shows where to look.
• Call your insurer. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says to contact your insurer before you rent a home for a long or short term, because failing to do so can void your coverage.
• Run the numbers both ways. A long-term tenancy isn't affected by these rules, though the Residential Tenancy Act applies, and an accountant can tell you how either choice affects your taxes.

Questions buyers often ask me

Can I rent out my condo short term in BC?

Where the principal residence rule applies, only if the condo is your principal residence, and only if your strata bylaws and your city allow it. You also need a provincial registration number on every listing.

Which communities does the principal residence rule cover?

Municipalities with 10,000 or more people and smaller ones within 15 km of a larger municipality, unless they opt out. As of June 2026, that is every community I serve except Lions Bay.

Can I rent my basement suite or laneway home short term?

Under the provincial rule, you can rent one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the property where you live. Some cities are stricter: Vancouver allows it only if the suite is the unit you live in.

Can my strata ban short-term rentals?

Yes. A strata can restrict or ban rentals of less than 90 consecutive days with a 3/4 vote and fine up to $1,000 a day, even where the Province and the city allow them.

Do I pay tax on short-term rental income?

Yes. The income goes on your tax return, and expenses can't be deducted for any time the rental doesn't follow the rules. Stays also carry PST, MRDT where it applies and, in some cases, GST.

Weighing a rental plan? Read about how a mortgage helper suite works, what strata bylaws can say about rentals and BC's speculation and vacancy tax.

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. The details come from the Province, the City of Vancouver, the CRA and the Insurance Bureau of Canada and were current at the time of writing; rules differ by community and strata, so check them for the home you are considering. For the Province's guide, see the principal residence requirement.