Short-term rental changes put on pause

The City of Kelowna is putting proposed changes to its short term rental rules on hold until more is known about what the province plans to do.

The decision was made after a four-hour public hearing on the topic at city hall on Tuesday.

The proposed changes include updates to the city’s zoning bylaw to remove short-term rental accommodation as a permitted secondary use across all zones.

“This decision means existing rules governing short-term rentals within Kelowna currently remain in effect – however, the temporary pause on short-term rental business licence applications put into place on October 23 continues. This includes all applications, including secondary use, principal use and non-conforming properties,” a city news release stated.

Council said that before a decision can be made, more information is needed on the yet-to-be announced regulations for the provincial government’s Short-term Rental Accommodations Act.

“This includes more detailed guidance regarding new principal residence requirements; changes to legal non-conforming use protections; the provincial short-term rental registry; the provincial compliance and enforcement unit; and increased fines or tickets,” the news release said.

City staff are expected to provide an update to council in the coming weeks.

For more information, visit: kelowna.ca/short-term-rentals.