Vancouver proposes licensed short-term Airbnb stays to increase rental supply
Vancouver’s mayor wants to ban Airbnb rentals for those who aren’t living in the homes they are listing, while requiring everyone else to hold a business licence.
Mayor Gregor Robertson has revealed the city’s approach to regulating short stays facilitated by vacation-rental websites, which he says are contributing to a “dangerously” low vacancy rate.
“Our approach is to strike a balance between regulating short-term rentals and ensuring that some people can continue to do that, but focusing on our long-term rentals,” he told a news conference Wednesday.
“Housing is first and foremost about homes, not about operating a business.”