BC's short-term rental regulations are not needed in Alberta, according to those trying to solve the housing crisis

British Columbia's provincial government introduced new rules in early May to limit short-term housing.

But those trying to solve Albertans' housing crisis aren't convinced such regulations are needed here.

The executive director of Calgary-based Vibrant Communities, an anti-poverty advocate, says securing the housing market is a key issue, and he's less concerned about the impact of short-term rentals.

“Where we are right now in the Calgary market in terms of short-term rentals is good and reasonable,” Meahon Reed said.

Under BC's new rules, a landlord can rent out the same primary residence as well as one “additional unit, additional suite or road house” on the same property.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/bcs-short-term-rental-regulations-include-10k-daily-penalties-for-airbnb-other-platforms-1.6852275

The goal of the province's rules is to open up the thousands of potential long-term accommodations that are currently offered year-round on apps like Airbnb and Vrbo.

The BC government previously estimated that 19,000 entire homes were used only as short-term rentals last year.

Premier David Eby said: “I can tell you that 19,000 families are looking for private accommodation … right now they are competing with people who want to run houses like hotels.”

A University of Calgary report says there were more than 1,500 short-term rentals on permanent listings in July 2023.

https://hdp-ca-prod-app-cgy-engage-files.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/8716/9766/8907/A_Detailed_Portrait_of_the_Short-Term_Rental_Market_in_Calgary_October_2020

“If STRs are banned in Calgary, these are the units that could be pushed back into the housing market,” it said.

“It's not going to have a significant impact on the rental market,” Reid said.

“A family can live in the same house and it's important if every family is experiencing homelessness or living in a shelter. Because of that, short-term rentals have a niche in the market for small numbers of newcomers, such as people who have nowhere else to live,” Reed said.

Nathan Rothman, head of Airbnb in Canada, says the BC government has gone too far.

“The solution to the long-term rental problem is to build more housing. We make up less than one percent of the total number of homes in the province,” Rothman said.

“Alberta has allowed its municipalities to make rules that are made for those municipalities, not the best approach that people will take. We will continue to work with cities across the country as they set rules and make sure that homeowners understand what their responsibilities are.”

According to Mayor Shawn Krausert, in Canmore, the average assessed value of a property is more than $1 million, and a single-family home is about $1.4 million.

According to information provided by the municipality, there are about 2,000 short-term housing units that are either tourist homes or condominiums.

Krausert said BC's implementation of similar regulations may help their near-zero vacancy rate, but that's only a small part of the problem.

“I don't know if that's an important piece of the puzzle,” Krausert said.

“The real concern is that we need a large amount of affordable housing for residents so that we don't leave our employees or managers, some business owners out of the community, so we don't lose families and close schools and everything. “

To help solve the housing crisis, the city is trying to build thousands of non-market housing units for residents.

A University of Calgary short-term rental market report says the short-term rental market is under control, but “now is a good time to review the regulations to ensure it stays that way.”

It's something Reed agrees with.

“I would suggest that we keep an eye on it and legislate if we feel it's getting out of hand,” Reed said.