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Kelowna city council is slowly and carefully putting its feet forward in the right direction to control short-term rentals and especially AirB&Bs.
There is an undercurrent of feeling in certain areas of Kelowna that rental control is like the old wild west, anything goes. There is no pursuance of the rules and regulations put in place to make our communities harmonious living spaces.
In the attempt to provide more rental spaces by changing and modifying residential zones, council has created a monster that is running rampant and is causing confrontations and unnecessary work for bylaw staff, and unless controlled, it will be the downfall of some beautiful areas of Kelowna.
There are some single-family homes that have been converted to boarding houses where there are four rooms rented at $750 a month, cash only. This creates extra vehicles parked on the road, and complaints.
There are more illegal suites than legal suites. If you are renting a room or half a house, it is for a purpose – to make money. This is a business, and a very profitable one. If you want to control it establish a policy that requires a business licence of a minimal amount and start to control the monster before it devours you.
All rentals should advertise their availability with a business licence number, then Revenue Canada would get its just due and Kelowna would be able to control what it can’t control today.
According to Pushor Mitchell’s website: If you are going to create a secondary suite, then you have to provide parking for your tenant. Three off-street parking spaces must be provided on site (1 for the secondary suite and 2 for the corresponding single family unit). This off-street parking cannot be located in the required front yard, with one exception: a maximum of 2 parking spaces may be located in the driveway of the single family residence.
Council has a chance to rectify a major problem, so make sure you add the requirement of a business licence and longer-term rentals to the short-term rental policy changes you are considering.
Councillors who are associated with the realty business will have to ensure there is no conflict of interest when topics that involve this aspect of business come up for discussion, and they should abstain from voting on any motion that could be seen as having a business interest for them.
Michael Henderson, Kelowna
