The one thing you must know before renting out your home this summer

PENTICTON – Summer is on the way, and local governments have some words of advice for those who rent their homes out as vacation rentals.

The regional district is reminding residents they need to acquire a Temporary Use Permit if they plan to operate their residence as a vacation rental.

The regional district board adopted the policies to accommodate vacation rentals on March 20, 2014. The permit fee costs $700, however this summer marks the first time home owners will have to get one so the regional district is cutting them a break and only charging $350. Be prepared to pay the full price in 2016.

A resident who allows the use of his house for the commercial accommodation of paying guests for a period of less than one month will require TUPs.

Bed and Breakfast facilities are not included.

Operating as a vacation rental without a valid permit may result in daily fines should regulation enforcement action take place. Failure to procure a TUP may also result in invalid property insurance.

The City of Penticton also requires those using their residences as vacation rentals to have a special business licence, in order for the city to ensure the rental unit meets the B.C. Building Code.

“There are annual licence costs and a ‘tourism fee’ which allows the rental to be listed with Tourism Penticton in their directory of available accommodations,” explained City of Penticton Communications Officer Simone Blais.

“Having the licence also provides prospective customers with a relative assurance of safety, that the premise has been inspected and is to the B.C. Building Code,” Blais said.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.