Tag Archives: AirBnB

Housing

Burnaby: Higher fines may be coming for short-term rentals

Editor’s note: An increasing number of communities are enacting regulations around short term rentals. Cortes Island has a 3% tax on short term rentals. Some residents need the revenue that STRs provide in order to survive, but 63% of the respondents to the Cortes Island Housing Survey said people should only operate short term rentals on land that includes their primary residence (I.E. – no off island owners). 21% voted against this.

Lubna El Elaimy, Burnaby Beacon, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

During the special committee of council’s meeting on Dec. 6, committee members voted to send a letter to the attorney general and minister of municipal affairs to increase the maximum daily penalties under the Local Government Bylaw Notice Enforcement Act (LGBNEA) for owners of short-term rental (STR) accommodations. 

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Housing, Poverty

What the Cortes Housing Survey Says: Problems And Possibilities

Two hundred and sixty-five people (265) filled out responses to the Cortes Island Housing survey which was carried out by the Cortes Community Housing Society and Regional Director Mark Vonesch. While this is only about 30% of the adult population, their answers provide a clear picture of the current housing situation, as well as specific areas where the majority of the population appear to support change.

“Other housing surveys they’ve done in the past have just broken over 100, so people are really engaged around this issue,” explained Vonesch. “40% of the people who responded to the survey have been here for over 20 years, which is significant.  The people that have been here for a long time and seen a lot of changes over the years and seen the way that Cortes is going and where it’s at now and where it has been.” 

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Housing

Cortes Island’s First Housing Forum

About 100 people came together for Cortes Island’s first Housing Forum on Saturday, December 2, in Mansons Hall.   

There were break-out sessions devoted to tiny homes, rental housing, short term rentals, worker housing, empty homes, landlord-tenant relations, home upgrades and making land and home ownership more affordable. A session devoted to environmental issues was added at the last minute. 

The Forum began with opening addresses by Regional Director Mark Vonesch and Sadhu Johnston, Executive Director of the Cortes Community Housing Society.  

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Indigenous Nations, Tourism

Klahoose Wilderness Resort supports Indigenous Tourism Destination Fund 

The Klahoose Wilderness Resort  has partnered with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) to support the newly launched Indigenous Tourism Destination Fund. 

“There’s 800 new Indigenous tourism businesses that this strategy is going to support. Those are new ones. I think there’s 300 now that are like Klahoose Wilderness Resort across the country.  Most of them are small businesses like ours,”  explained Chris Tait, Tourism manager for the Klahoose Wilderness Resort.

“We’re part of the original accreditation program with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, where they recognize Indigenous tourism businesses. There’s three levels. You have to  meet a whole bunch of criteria, like: have a business plan; a marketing plan;  work with international visitors;  be an Indigenous owned business; and have an Indigenous experience.”

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Housing

Number of Tri-Cities properties cashing in on short-term rentals spikes 45% in year

Editor’s note: To what extent are we looking at a province wide trend? Is this spike happening in our area, or is it a more urban phenomenon?

By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The number of landowners in the Tri-Cities using their properties for short-term rentals spiked 45 percent in one year. 

In August, sites like Airbnb and Vrbo posted 807 active listings for Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, according to data provided by AirDNA, a market research provider.

That’s up from 446 total listings in August 2022. Despite the number of active listings being halved during the COVID-19 pandemic, overall rental growth still jumped 35 percent since 2018.

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