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B.C.'s short-term rental principal residence requirement

Last updated on September 21, 2026

Short-term rentals are limited to principal residences in many B.C. communities. Learn more on this page.

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B.C. has a provincial principal residence requirement in some areas of the province which limits short-term rentals to: 

The principal residence requirement applies across B.C. in municipalities with a population of 10,000 and over and smaller neighbouring communities. In addition, communities have the opportunity to opt-in annually.

There are some exemptions from the principal residence requirement, including:

  • Certain communities
  • Types of land
  • Types of accommodation service providers

The areas where the principal residence requirement applies may change annually, as some local governments can request to opt-in or opt-out of the principal residence requirement.

The provincial principal residence requirement is the minimum requirement. Local governments may prefer to have more restrictive short-term rental bylaws depending on local needs. Short-term rental hosts must continue to follow local bylaws in place.  

Note: Some municipalities and regional districts have their own principal residence requirements. These local rules may be more restrictive than the provincial rules. Short-term rental hosts must comply with all applicable local bylaws. Check with your local government to confirm if there is a local principal residence requirement in your area

Principal residence requirement and registration fees

Principal residence is also used to determine the applicable registration fee for each short-term rental unit. 

  • Registration is issued on a per-unit basis, not on a per-property basis. 

  • Each short-term rental unit requires its own registration number. 

  • Registration fees depend on whether the specific unit being registered is the host's principal residence. 

To find visual breakdowns of the properties listed, view the Property Configuration Examples (PDF, 788.2 KB).

 The host's principal residence 

The unit the host lives in is their principal residence. The guests have access to the host’s space (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room).  

Fee: $100 annually 

This includes: 

  • Renting a room only 

  • Renting out the entire unit while the hosts are away 

Secondary units on the property 

 Any accommodation that is separate from the home where the host lives, sleeps, and eats is considered a secondary unit, even if it is located on the same property or connected by an interior door. Guests stay in their own private space and do not have access to the host’s bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen.  

Fee: $450 annually 

This includes:  

  • A secondary suite (with access to the main home, but the guest does not have permission to use the access or it remains locked) 

  • A cottage, carriage home, lane house, or other accessory dwelling units  

Principal residence location map

Use our interactive map to find if your property is in an area where the principal residence requirement applies.

Link to open the provincial principal residence location map

Note: This map is for your convenience only. Refer to the regulation for details.

List of communities where the principal residence requirement applies 

The expandable menu below lists the communities where the principal residence requirement applies (as of June 1, 2026). These include:

  • Communities with a population of over 10,000 people
  • Communities that are very close to one or more larger communities where the principal residence requirement applies
  • Communities that have chosen to opt-in to the principal residence requirement
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Communities with principal residence requirement

Abbotsford

Anmore

Belcarra

Bowen Island Municipality

Burnaby

Campbell River

Central Saanich

Chilliwack

Coldstream

Colwood

Comox

Coquitlam

Courtenay

Columbia Shuswap Regional District Electoral Area B (Revelstoke Rural)

Cowichan Valley Regional District Electoral Area A (Mill Bay/Malahat)

Cowichan Valley Regional District Electoral Area C (Cobble Hill)

Cowichan Valley Regional District Electoral Area F (Cowichan Lake South/Skutz Falls)

Cowichan Valley Regional District Electoral Area H (North Oyster/Diamond)

Cranbrook

Creston

Cumberland

Delta

Duncan

Esquimalt

Gabriola Island

Highlands

Kamloops

Kent

Lake Country

Langford

Langley (City)

Langley (Township)

Maple Ridge

Metchosin

Mission

Nanaimo

Nelson

New Westminster

North Cowichan

North Saanich

North Vancouver (City)

North Vancouver (District)

Oak Bay

Osoyoos

Parksville

Pemberton

Penticton

Pitt Meadows

Port Alberni

Port Coquitlam

Port Moody

Powell River

Prince George

Prince Rupert

Qualicum Beach

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Electoral Area D (Skaha East/Okanagan Falls)

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Electoral Area F (Okanagan Lake West/West Bench)

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Electoral Area I (Skaha West/Kaleden/Apex)

Richmond

Saanich 

Salmon Arm

Salt Spring Island

Sechelt

Sidney

Sooke

Strathcona Regional District Electoral Area B (Cortes Island)

Strathcona Regional District Electoral Area C (Quadra Island - Discovery Islands)

Squamish

Summerland

Surrey

Terrace

Vancouver

Vernon

Victoria

View Royal

West Vancouver

White Rock

Williams Lake

 

Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs)

The Province’s principal residence requirement applies to bed and breakfasts (B&Bs). A B&B may continue to operate if the owner lives on the property. Generally, a B&B is defined as a room in the host’s home where guests stay and do not have their own kitchen or cooking facilities (stove, microwave, toaster oven, etc.). Separate units, such as secondary suites and accessory dwelling units, are not considered B&Bs because they contain their own cooking facilities. 

The short-term rental legislation is intended to return more homes to the long-term housing market. Some types of accommodation are exempt from certain requirements because they were not designed for long-term residential use, or because restrictions on their ownership or use make them unsuitable as permanent housing.  

There are three categories of exemptions under the legislation. 

1. Exempt from the legislation 

These accommodations are exempt from the short-term rental legislation and are not required to register: 

  • Hotels/motels (typically one property owned by one person/company) 

  • Vehicles (insured through ICBC vehicle insurance) 

  • Tents/temporary shelters (typically have no permanent plumbing or electricity) 

2. Exempt from registration and principal residence requirements  

These accommodations remain under the Province’s jurisdiction and are exempt from both registration and principal residence requirements. However, they must still comply with all other applicable requirements of the short-term rental legislation. 

Use the hyperlinks for the requirements of each exemption listed below: 

3. Exempt from the provincial principal residence requirement  

These accommodations remain under the Province’s jurisdiction and must register with the Short-Term Rental Registry, but are exempt from the principal residence requirement: 

  • Farm Land (Class 9 under BC Assessment Act,  Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) designation alone is not exempt) 

Provincial registration requirements apply to short-term rentals offered for fewer than 90 consecutive days, regardless of whether a local business licence is required. 

In some communities, business licence requirements apply only to shorter rental periods (for example, 28 or 30 days). In these cases, a host may be exempt from obtaining a local business licence but would still be required to register with the Province if they offer accommodations for fewer than 90 consecutive days. 

For example, a host offered stays of 31 to 89 days in a community where business licences are only required for stays of 30 days or less would need to register with the Province but would not need a local business licence. 

Hosts remain responsible for complying with all local bylaws and licensing requirements that apply in their jurisdiction. Compliance with local bylaws is a condition of registration.

Opt-out provision

Certain local governments can annually request by a resolution submitted to the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs to "opt-out" of the principal residence requirement if the community has a rental vacancy rate of 3% or more for two consecutive years.

  • A local government’s resolution must be submitted to the Province by February 28th of each year, (February 29th in leap years), and the change (if approved by the Province) will take effect June 1st of the same year   

List of exempt communities and land where the principal residence requirement does not apply

Communities exempt from the provincial principal residence requirement:  

  • Municipalities with populations under 10,000 and not within 15 km of a larger municipality (listed below) 

  • Mountain resorts, BC Parks resorts, and ski resort areas (listed below) 

  • Most regional district electoral areas   

  • Most Trust areas under the Islands Trust Act (excluding Salt Spring Island and Gabriola Island) 

The expandable menu below lists the communities and land where the Province's principal residence requirement will not apply, unless the local government chooses to opt-in.

Expand All | Collapse All
 

Municipalities exempt from the principal residence requirement

Alert Bay 

Armstrong 

Ashcroft 

Barriere 

Burns Lake 

Cache Creek 

Canal Flats 

Castlegar 

Chase 

Chetwynd 

Clearwater 

Clinton 

Daajing Giids 

Dawson Creek

Enderby 

Fernie 

Fort St. James 

Fort St. John

Fraser Lake 

Fruitvale 

Gibsons 

Gold River 

Golden 

Grand Forks 

Granisle 

Greenwood 

Harrison Hot Springs 

Hazelton 

Hope 

Houston 

Hudson’s Hope 

Invermere 

Kaslo 

Kelowna

Keremeos 

Kimberley 

Kitimat 

Ladysmith 

Lake Cowichan 

Lantzville 

Lillooet 

Lions Bay 

Logan Lake 

Lumby 

Mackenzie 

Masset 

Merritt 

Midway 

Montrose 

Nakusp 

New Denver 

New Hazelton 

Northern Rockies Regional Municipality 

Oliver 

Peachland 

Port Alice 

Port Clements 

Port Edward 

Port Hardy 

Port McNeill 

Pouce Coupe

Princeton 

Quesnel 

Revelstoke 

Radium Hot Springs 

Rossland 

Salmo 

Sayward 

Sicamous 

Silverton 

Slocan 

Smithers 

Sparwood 

Spallumcheen 

Stewart 

Sun Peaks 

Taylor 

Telkwa 

Tahsis 

Tofino

Trail 

Tumbler Ridge 

Ucluelet 

Valemount 

Vanderhoof 

Warfield 

Wells 

West Kelowna

Whistler 

Zeballos

 

Ski resort areas exempt from the principal residence requirement

Apex Mountain Resort

Baldy Mountain Resort

Bear Mountain (Dawson Creek)

Big Bam Ski Hill (Taylor)

Big White Ski Resort

Blackcomb Mountain Resort

Clearwater Ski Hill

Crystal Mountain Ski Resort

Cypress Mountain

Fairmont Hot Springs Ski Area

Fernie Alpine Resort

Grouse Mountain

Harper Mountain Ski Hill

Hart Highlands Ski Hill (Prince George)

Hudson Bay Mountain Resort

Hudson’s Hope Ski Hill

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort

Kimberley Alpine Resort

Little Mac Ski Hill (Mackenzie)

Manning Park

Mount Cain Ski Hill

Mount Seymour

Mount Timothy Ski Resort

Mount Washington Alpine Resort

Murray Ridge Ski Area

Panorama Mountain Resort

Phoenix Mountain Ski Resort

Powder King Mountain Resort

Purden Ski Village

Red Mountain Resort

Revelstoke Mountain Resort

Saddle Mountain Resort

Salmo Ski Hill

Sasquatch Mountain Resort

Shames Mountain Ski Area

Silver Star Mountain Resort

Summit Lake Ski Area

Sun Peaks Resort

Tabor Mountain Ski Resort

Troll Resort

Valemount Glacier Destination Resort

Wapiti Ski Hill

Whistler Mountain Resort

Whitewater Ski Resort

 

Regional District Electoral Areas with Provincial principal residence requirement 

Columbia-Shuswap Regional District Electoral Area: B 

Cowichan Valley Regional District Electoral Areas: A, C, F, H 

Metro Vancouver Regional District Electoral Areas: University of British Columbia and the University Endowment Land 

Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen Electoral Areas: D, F, I 

Strathcona Regional District Electoral Areas: B, C 

 

View maps of B.C.’s mountain resort areas​

Maps showing the boundaries of B.C.'s mountain resort areas are available within the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Regulation, B.C. Reg. 268/2023, as amended by OIC 197-2024 and OIC 277-2025.   

Local governments can annually request by resolution submitted to the Minister of Housing to "opt-in" to the Province’s principal residence requirement: 

  • A local government’s resolution must be submitted to the Province by February 28th of each year (February 29th in leap years), for the change to take effect November 1st of the same year 
  • A request from a municipal council or regional district board cannot change the exempt status of certain areas, including a resort area or farm land
  • Certain areas governed by special authorities will be able to make requests independently of the regional district board. These are:
    • Local trust committees in the Islands Trust 
    • Cultus Lake Park Board

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Disclaimer

The information on this webpage about the Province of British Columbia’s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act and regulations is provided for the user’s convenience as a basic starting point. It is not a substitute for getting legal advice or other professional advice. If there is a conflict between the information on this webpage and the legislation or regulations, the legislation and regulations prevail. The interpretation of legislation is also affected by court decisions. This information may be subject to change, including changes due to the legislative process.

If you have questions about B.C.'s short-term rental legislation, please contact the ServiceBC call centre at 1-833-828-2240 or email STRregistry@sbc.gov.bc.ca.

  • ServiceBC is open Mon to Fri from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm with help available on the phone, toll free, in 140 languages and for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired.