Photo: Nicholas Johansen

David Monpetit was watching very closely when the province announced new rules around short term rentals that could bolster enforcement and compliance efforts.

David Monpetit was listening very closely when the province announced new rules around short-term rentals that could bolster enforcement and compliance efforts.

“We are hoping these new regulations will have a positive impact on our plight,” the Kelowna man who lives next to a problem short-term rental said.

“I am optimistic and confident that some action will be taken.”

The province announced Monday a short-term rental registry that will see anyone operating a short-term rental listed on platforms, such as Airbnb or VRBO, register with the province and pay a fee ranging from $100 to $600 to do so.

Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon said revenue from the program will, among other things, support short-term rental enforcement and compliance in communities throughout B.C.

Enforcement is something Monpetit said is in short supply with those who are still failing to heed rules set in place last year.

Monpetit lives on Viewcrest Court in Kelowna’s Upper Mission neighbourhood and he has a front row seat to a house that embodies all that an irresponsible rental looks like.

“There were parties going, tour buses showing up with people getting off of it, people partying, people being rude to our neighbours, abusive, threatening, we've had people urinating on the driveway,” Montpetit said earlier in the year.

“The police are called regularly, bylaw is called regularly, we've been in touch with the city, we've been in touch with different departments in the city, so they're well aware of the property, it's well documented.”

The home has racked up at least 54 complaints with the city's bylaw department alone, but there’s still loud music and disrupting incidents during the high season and it's clear that nobody lives within.

This time of year, he said, the property is pretty quiet, with the exception of someone rolling in to put up Christmas lights, a tree, and other accoutrements that make it look like it’s a home, not just a party stop.

“We expect them to get going again in the spring and we are tracking this ourselves … we’ve provided an update to the city already about the issues we see,” he said.

“My hope is based on additional support they’re going to get that the city will put some new regulations to address areas of concerns like ours and allow people who are responsible short term owners (to) take advantage of it.”

Monpetit said he’s not alone in this view.

“I have had a lot of people come up to me, tell me what they’re experiencing and saying, ‘why is this still happening?’" he said.

“I have not heard a negative comment even from people who have short-term rentals because this puts them in a negative light…but to be living in a situation like this, is disheartening and discouraging.”

Monpetit has advice for others who are in the same position he’s been— keep reporting what they see, don’t give up, even when they feel they’re not getting anywhere, and make sure they can’t be ignored.

“Don’t let the pressure off at all,” he said.

While registration and enforcement efforts could see a shift, there's also a chance for some lightening of regulations in Kelowna, which has voted to align itself more closely with the province's rules.

A year ago, after the province introduced short-term rental legislation, the city, in an attempt to protect its long-term rental stock in the face of a low vacancy rate, made its bylaws even more restrictive.

As a result, only 427 short-term rental properties were licensed in 2024 compared with more than 1,200 the previous year.

Now with a healthy 3.8 per cent vacancy rate, a large number of rental units becoming available, prices which seem to be stabilizing, and more help with enforcement, the city will adjust its bylaws.

Council voted 7-1 to ask planning staff to come back with bylaws that would now allow for short-term rentals within a host’s principal residence.

The city’s more restrictive bylaws coincided with a sluggish summer economy. Many business owners laid the blame at the feet of the city.

-with files from Nicholas Johansen