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The first day of summer arrived earlier this week, and school will be out at the end of the month.
That means people from all over the country will be travelling to Kelowna and needing a place to stay while soaking up the Okanagan sun. According to figures Airbnb released on Thursday, Kelowna is its No. 4 summer destination for Canadians. Only Canada’s three largest cities—Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver—attract more each summer.
Technically, short-term rentals of fewer than 30 days are not allowed in Kelowna’s residential areas, although changes could be on the way. The city’s planning department has finished the public opinion survey on the matter and hopes to take those results, along with guiding principles, to council for review in July.
The fact Kelowna is the No. 4 Airbnb summer destination among Canadians should have Tourism Kelowna excited, but the city also acknowledges it needs to think of its residents. In Vancouver and Victoria, for example, you have to be a full-time resident of your home before you can make it available for short-term rentals.
“The fact that we’re looking at allowing short-term rentals means we’re acknowledging that obviously this is part of the tourism industry, which is a big industry in Kelowna,” said Laura Bentley, Kelowna’s community planning supervisor. “So there is certainly an acknowledgement of that, but then also looking at the potential neighbourhood impact and impact on the long-term rental market. We’re trying to balance those different objectives.”
The city reports an increasing number of complaints “related to the short-term rental of residential homes,” but it also wants to be fair to those who need a place to live.
“We also know we have a 0.2 per cent vacancy rate,” Bentley said. “We’ve seen more construction in terms of new apartment buildings, but there is still expected to be a really strong demand for rental units. So we do have to consider that.”
“… There’s quite a few factors that will lead to how we come up with regulations around this.”
Once council has heard the public survey results and guiding principles, regulations will be drafted and stakeholders will be consulted. The final step will be staff policy recommendations.
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