Vancouver proposes licensed short-term Airbnb rentals to increase 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.”