No short- term renting under the current law
JEFF LEE
Sun
Vancouver council will decide today whether to relax laws governing temporary accommodation in residential zones during the 2010 Olympics.
The move, if adopted, would likely see upwards of 1,000 applications from homeowners who want to rent two or more rooms for 30 days or less. Currently, the city does not allow such short-term rentals in residential districts.
The catch will be that anyone wanting to set up such “ bed and breakfast” lodging will also have to apply for a business licence.
Coun. Geoff Meggs said Monday he’s in favour of the zoning bylaw relaxation because it would create extra rooms for visitors without endangering current rental housing.
Under the proposal, houses for Olympic rentals cannot have been occupied by a tenant or boarder after Sept. 1. “ The idea is to take the pressure off our existing stock of rental housing,” Meggs said. “ We’re actually trying to expand the stock of housing during the Olympics by protecting units that already have renters.”
A report to council notes that there are virtually no hotel rooms available in Vancouver during the Games. Vanoc has reserved 80 per cent of the 12,000 hotel rooms in downtown Vancouver and many hotels are withholding the remaining stock. About 350,000 ticketed spectators are expected, creating intense pressure for renters. It says residents wanting to rent a single room for one or two people don’t need a business licence. But renting multiple rooms or an entire unit would require a licence, which staff want to set at $ 150. That’s higher than the $ 108 now required for long-term rentals, which staff say is necessary to recover the costs of the application program.
But Meggs said he had already heard from homeowners and other councillors who say the proposed fee is too high. “ We’re not throwing away the rule book. But let’s be pragmatic. Lots of people are not going to bother applying for a business licence,” he said. “ The risk they run is if their neighbours get fed up with people coming to and from the garage and make a complaint, they could be shut down and face a fine.”
Council will also vote on a recommendation to allow the Vancouver Organizing Committee to park its fleet of 800 buses on a piece of industrial land in south Vancouver.
