Strata hotels, motels exempt from new short-term rental rules

Mar 27, 2024 | 2:10 PM Pete McIntyre

The B.C. government says certain strata hotels and motels will be able to continue providing overnight accommodation, despite the new short-term rental (STR) rules.

The province is finalizing the criteria for strata hotels and motels to be exempted from the principal-residence requirement for STRs, which will go into effect in many B.C. communities May 1.

The regulations are expected to be finalized in April, and details are being provided now to provide clarity ahead of the upcoming tourist season.

It is expected that an existing strata hotel or motel will be exempt from the principal-residence requirement if one of the following two options applies.

1. Before Dec. 8, 2023, accommodation was being provided in a manner similar to a hotel or motel and on Dec. 8, 2023, the strata hotel or motel had and continues to have all of the following, which are provided in a manner similar to a hotel or motel:

a staffed front desk on site;
one or more employees or contractors that provide housekeeping services for overnight accommodations; and
a platform providing platform services available exclusively for the use of owners offering short-term rentals at the property.

2. Before Dec. 8, 2023, accommodation was being provided in a manner similar to a hotel or motel, and more than one strata lot on the property is not able to be used as a principal residence by anyone due to a restriction under:

zoning;
a rental management agreement between the manager and an owner of a strata lot; or
a restrictive covenant or a covenant under section 219 of the Land Title Act.

Strata hotels and motels are facilities made up of individually owned strata lots, where accommodation is provided in a manner similar to a hotel or motel. Units in strata hotels and motels are often managed and rented out by the strata hotel or motel, not the individual.