Report targets unregistered vacation rentals

PENTICTON – Changes being recommended for vacation rentals in the City of Penticton is putting unregistered operators in the crosshairs.

One of the biggest issues city staff deal with in this area is the number of advertised unlicensed vacation rentals operating in the city with services such as AirBnB and VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner). Staff are recommending putting a third party provider to work to uncover and educate those operating unregistered owners.

Vacation rentals are considered to be an important part of Penticton’s accommodation resources, benefitting the tourism in general, but city staff are suggesting a couple of changes to the way the city administers its vacation rentals.

A city staff report coming before council this afternoon, March 20, says vacation rentals are an opportunity for property owners to increase yearly income while providing accommodation to the vacationing public that enhances, rather than competing with, the local hotel industry.

However, today’s staff recommendations hope to address local problems with respect to regulatory and procedural issues.

Research indicates there are more than 300 advertised vacation rentals, of which only 130 are registered.

City staff would like to hire a company like Host Compliance to track, monitor and educate vacation rental business owners operating online.

The provider would not issue fines, but would forward applications and information to the business operator as soon as an advertisement is placed online. Staff believe the action would reduce both the number of nuisance operations and works without permits.

Staff also recommend amending the city’s four vacation rental category definitions to keep new units out of the vacation rental pool, ensuring those units are used for housing.

Staff also recommend capping the number of licenses if numbers increase significantly, or limiting the types of housing that can be used.

Another change recommended would place the onus for neighbourhood consensus of a vacation rental in the hands of the business owner.

The recommendations are expected to reduce both the number of nuisance operations and help stop the loss of long term residential units in the city.

No major financial changes to the short term vacation rental program are anticipated with the staff recommendations. Increased revenue from registration of previously non-compliant businesses should offset any additional costs rising from hiring a third party provider such as Host Compliance.

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