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Register as a host

Last updated on January 28, 2025

Short-term rental hosts must register each of their short-term rental units to operate in B.C. Learn about registration and responsibilities as a short-term rental host in B.C. on this page.

On this page: 

Host registration overview

By May 1, 2025, short-term rental hosts must have registered their short-term rentals with the provincial short-term rental registry to operate in B.C.

Registration must be completed by one of the following people who could be responsible for operating the short-term rental:

  • A property host: A person who is legally entitled to possession of a property where short-term rental accommodation services are provided, and who has responsibility for arranging the short-term rental offer
    • A co-host who is responsible for managing the short-term rental on behalf of the property host must be added as a required secondary contact during registration
    • A co-host who only assists the property manager can be added as an optional secondary contact
  • A property manager: Defined as "supplier host" in legislation, refers to a person who, acting on behalf of the property host or under their direction, is responsible for handling short-term rental arrangements, including managing the rental services

Each short-term rental unit must be registered separately through separate applications, except for when a host is registering more than one bedroom within the same home. For example:

  • If a host provides short-term rental accommodations on the main floor of their home and a secondary suite, both must be registered separately
  • If a host provides separate short-term rental accommodations in two bedrooms within their home, these can be registered in one application, though a fee will apply to each bedroom

Hosts who do not comply will:

  • have their listings taken down, starting May 1, 2025
  • have future bookings cancelled, starting June 1, 2025

​How to register

Follow these steps to register a short-term rental unit:

  1. Review the information on this page, then click “Apply Now” at the bottom of this page
  2. Log in to your existing BC Registries account
  3. Complete your application
  4. Pay the fee by credit card
  5. Submit your application
  6. View your dashboard to see the status of your application
  7. Receive an email notification when your application has been approved or denied
  8. View your dashboard to see your registration number
  9. Include the following information in all of your short-term rental listings by May 1, 2025 to avoid disruptions:
    • your registration number
    • local government business licence number (if required), and
    • the address associated with your registration

See a visual quick guide for applying for short-term rental registration for hosts (PDF, 3 MB)

Eligibility

To register and operate a short-term rental in B.C., hosts are required to:

Once registered, hosts must:

  • Display their provincial registration number on their listing by May 1, 2025
  • Display a valid business licence number on their listing in areas where a business licence is required by the local government

Principal residence requirement

In some areas of B.C., short-term rentals are limited to:

Find more information, including an interactive principal residence location map, on the provincial principal residence requirement page.

Principal residence requirement examples

The following are examples that help explain how the principal residence requirement applies. Short-term rentals may also need to follow other rules, like local government bylaws or the terms of tenancy agreements, in addition to the principal residence requirement.

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Communities where the principal residence requirement applies:

  • Monica owns her home. She lives on the main floor of the house – this is her principal residence. She also has a basement suite and a laneway home on her property. Monica can provide short-term rental accommodations:
    • on the main floor (her principal residence) when she is away on vacation
    • in the bedrooms on the main floor at any time
    • in either the basement suite or the laneway house, but not both
  • Kamal lives in a rented basement suite – this is his principal residence. Kamal can provide short-term rental accommodations:
    • in the basement suite (his principal residence) when he is on vacation
    • in one or more bedrooms at any time
  • Mei lives in a two-bedroom rented apartment  – this is her principal residence. She also owns a cabin in a community where the principal residence requirement does not apply. Mei can provide short-term rental accommodations:
    • in her entire apartment when she travels for work
    • in the second bedroom at any time
    • at the cabin at any time
  • Alex owns his home – this is his principal residence. He also owns five condo units in the same city.
    • Alex can provide short-term rental accommodations in his home
    • Alex cannot provide short-term rental accommodations at any of the condo units
 

Communities where the principal residence requirement does not apply:

  • James owns three apartments in the same town and lives in one of them:
    • James can provide short-term rental accommodations in any of his apartments at any time
  • Sara owns a cabin that she uses for only part of the year:
    • Sara can provide short-term rental accommodations in her cabin at any time

 

Registration exemptions

Short-term rental hosts do not have to register if they provide:

Fees

Hosts must pay an annual fee to register their short-term rental based on the type of short-term rental accommodation. Fees will not be refunded if an application is denied.

Fees for a short-term rental you live in are $100 annually.

Fees for a short-term rental you don't live in are $450 annually.

To encourage early registration, there are discounted fees for hosts who apply early:

  • 50% off before March 1, 2025
  • 25% off between March 1 and March 31, 2025

Type of short-term rental

 Discounted fee until February 28, 2025 + $1.50 service fee

Register a short-term rental you live in, including:

  • a host's entire home while the host is away
  • a bedroom in the host’s home (more than one bedroom can be registered in one application, with the fee applied to each)

$50.00

Register a short-term rental you do not live in, including:

  • a secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property as the host's home
  • a host’s secondary property, in an area where the principal residence requirement does not apply
  • strata hotel unit listed on a third-party platform by a host (i.e., not the strata hotel's own website)

$225.00

Required information

Hosts must provide the following information to apply for registration:

  • Property host name, contact details, Social Insurance Number, and date of birth 

  • If there is a property manager, then the property manager name, contact details, and business information (if applicable)

  • Physical property address of the short-term rental and details of the short-term rental offer 

If there is a change in a host’s information used for registration (e.g., name, address), they are required to notify the Registrar of the change within 14 days. 

Required documents

Hosts may be required to provide the following documents to apply to register (Note: documents must be uploaded as PDF files):

Proof of principal residence

To register a short-term rental in an area where the principal residence requirement applies, hosts must provide documentation that proves the short-term rental is in:

The name and address on the documents must match the name of the property host and the address of the short-term rental.

Hosts must submit the following documents for proof of principal residence:

  • One proof of identity (choose one):
    • British Columbia Driver’s Licence
    • British Columbia Services Card
    • Combined BC Driver's Licence and Services Card
  • At least two supporting documents selected from the following:
    • Property Assessment Notice from BC Assessment Authority
    • ICBC Certificate of Insurance and Vehicle Licence
    • Summary of Home Insurance/Certificate of Insurance
    • Property Tax Notice
    • Utility bill (e.g., electricity, gas, water)
    • Speculation and Vacancy Tax Confirmation
    • Home Owner Grant Declaration Confirmation
    • Official notice from government agency or Crown corporation
    • Other documentation (will be assessed by the Registrar)
  • If the property host is a tenant, they must submit one of the following, which counts towards their two supporting documents above:
    • Tenancy (rental) agreement
    • Receipt or bank statement showing payment of rent

Principal residence exemptions

Some types of short-term rentals are exempt from the principal residence requirement. To apply for an exemption to the principal residence requirement, the following documents must be submitted during registration:

  • Fractional ownership exemption: A copy of the fractional ownership agreement
  • Farm land (BC Assessment farm class Class 9) exemption: The Registrar will evaluate property class - no additional documents are required from applicant
  • Strata hotel exemption: See the documents required for each strata hotel exemption type in the expandable menu below. Please title the documents with the category of exemption you are applying for.
    • This requirement only applies to hosts listing their unit on a third-party platform (i.e., not the strata hotel's own booking platform).
    • Strata hotel platforms should register first through the strata hotel platform registration
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Category 1: Strata hotel with a staffed front desk, housekeeping services, and a platform

To qualify for this principal residence exemption as a host in a strata hotel, you must provide proof that: 

  1. Before December 8, 2023, accommodation was being provided in a manner similar to that of a hotel or motel, and 
  2. Since December 8, 2023, the strata hotel has and continues to have all the following: 
  • A staffed front desk located on-site,
  • Housekeeping services for overnight accommodations provided by employees or contractors, and 
  • An online platform exclusively for booking and paying for short-term rentals at the property
 

Category 2: Strata hotel with two or more strata lots that cannot be used as a principal residence

To qualify for this principal residence exemption as a host in a strata hotel, you must provide proof that: 

  1. Before December 8, 2023, accommodation was being provided in a manner similar to that of a hotel or motel, and 
  2. Since December 8, 2023, at least two strata lots on the property cannot be used as a principal residence due to one of the following restrictions: 
  • Local zoning bylaws, 
  • A rental management agreement between the property manager and strata lot owners, or 
  • A restrictive covenant or a covenant under section 219 of the Land Title Act. 
 

Category 3: New strata hotel development since December 2023

To qualify for this principal residence exemption as a host in a strata hotel, you must provide proof that: 

  1. The strata hotel’s occupancy date was on or after December 8, 2023, and
  2. Both of the following apply:
  • The strata hotel has all the following services that are provided in a manner similar to that of a hotel or motel: 
    • A staffed front desk located on-site,
    • Housekeeping services for overnight accommodations provided by employees or contractors, and 
    • An online platform exclusively for booking and paying for short-term rentals at the property
  • At least two strata lots on the property cannot be used as a principal residence due to one of the following restrictions: 
    • Local zoning bylaws, 
    • A rental management agreement between the property manager and strata lot owners, or 
    • A restrictive covenant or a covenant under section 219 of the Land Title Act

See: Policy guidance on what it means to operate 'in a manner similar to that of a hotel or motel' (PDF, 559KB)

Local government business licence

Some local governments require short-term rental hosts to have a business licence. If a business licence is required by the local government, a copy of the valid business licence must be uploaded as part of your application.

Until June 1, 2025, hosts in the communities listed below can submit proof of applying for a business licence instead of providing a copy of the licence when registering. This temporary option is available because these communities have recently introduced or updated their short-term rental business licence programs. These hosts must upload a copy of their business licence to their registration dashboard by August 1, 2025, or their registration will be cancelled.

Proof of application for a business licence will be accepted for the following communities:

  • Golden
  • Invermere
  • Ladysmith
  • Maple Ridge
  • North Cowichan
  • North Vancouver (City)
  • North Vancouver (District)
  • Osoyoos
  • Port Alberni
  • Port Coquitlam
  • Port Moody
  • Prince Rupert
  • Sidney
  • Smithers
  • Surrey
  • Vernon
  • Williams Lake

After you apply

The expandable menu below shows processes for different application outcomes.

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Approved registration

Once registration is approved, hosts will receive a unique registration number for each short-term rental offer. Hosts are required to:

  • Update their short-term rental listing to include the valid registration number (and a local government business licence number, if required)
  • Make sure the address on their short-term rental listing exactly matches the address associated with the registration so platforms can successfully validate the registration number
  • Notify the Registrar if there is any change to their registration information within 14 days
  • Comply with the terms and conditions of registration
 

Denied applications

If the Registrar cannot confirm that an application meets registration requirements, the applicant will be notified that the application is under consideration and given an opportunity to be heard. They will have five days to provide additional information, such as proof of principal residence. If the information provided is insufficient or if the applicant fails to respond in time, the application may be denied without further notice.

If an application is denied, the applicant can request a review of the decision:

  • To apply for a review of a decision, the request must be submitted in writing to Registry.STR@gov.bc.ca within 14 days of the decision. The request should explain why the decision should be reviewed.
  • The review will only be considered where:  
    • there is new and relevant evidence that was not available before that could change the decision
    • the applicant was unable to be heard due to expected circumstances beyond their control
    • a technical mistake or error occurred that affected the decision, or  
    • the Registrar did not address an issue they were required to
  • The original decision may stay the same, be changed, or be cancelled
 

Cancelled or suspended registration

If the Registrar determines that the registrant has failed to comply with or does not meet the registration requirements, the registrant will be notified that the application is under consideration and will have an opportunity to be heard. The applicant will have five days to provide additional information to support their registration.

If the information provided does not justify maintaining registration, or if the registrant fails to respond in time, the registration may be suspended or cancelled without further notice. 

Hosts whose registrations are cancelled or suspended can request a review of the decision:

  • To apply for a review of a decision, the request must be submitted in writing to Registry.STR@gov.bc.ca within 14 days of the decision. The request should explain why the decision should be reviewed.
  • The review will only be considered where:  
    • there is new and relevant evidence that was not available before that could change the decision
    • the host was unable to be heard due to expected circumstances beyond their control
    • a technical mistake or error occurred that affected the decision, or  
    • the Registrar did not address an issue they were required to
  • The original decision may stay the same, be changed, or be cancelled

 

Registration renewal

All registrations must be renewed annually​. Hosts must resubmit proof of principal residence every three years.

A renewal can be denied when a host has:

Hosts must submit a new application if key registration information changes, including when:

  • there is a new property host
  • a registered short-term rental is no longer the host's principal residence
  • the listing changes from a bedroom to an entire unit, in a short-term rental where the host does not live

Registration checklist

Make sure you have the following information to apply for registration:

  1. Short-term rental unit details, including civic address, number of bedrooms, ownership type, Parcel Identifier (PID), and whether the unit is a principal residence
  2. Property manager name, civic address, email, phone and CRA Identifiers
  3. Host and co-host(s) name, mailing address, email, phone and CRA Identifiers
  4. Proof of principal residence or principal residence exemption
  5. Copy of local government short-term rental business licence or proof of application

If hosts have a legal question, they may wish to consult a lawyer. The Registrar cannot provide legal advice.

Apply now

Host registry terms and conditions

Not following provincial rules may result in:

  • Administrative monetary penalties
  • Compliance orders, which can be filed in court
  • Removal of a short-term rental listing from a platform

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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@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.