‘Communism territory’: Man miffed building not exempt from B.C.’s new short-term rental rules

Sam Ciacco is upset about B.C. legislation, saying long-term rental of his property doesn't make financial sense, and that selling it isn't simple because it’s commercially zoned.

At last, the City of Kelowna received answers from the province on possible exemptions regarding short-term rentals in secondary suites or homes.

Last year, the province announced controversial legislation on short-term rentals, essentially stating that affordable housing was a priority over the renting of rooms for profit.

However, there are numerous buildings in Kelowna built and zoned for short-term rentals, buildings for which city council was seeking exemptions.

“Staff went and chatted with the province about that and did some advocacy,” said city planner Ryan Smith, “and found that there wasn’t going to be an avenue to consider exemptions beyond what the province specifically allows in their legislation.”

Generally speaking, it means buildings that allow short-term rentals will no longer be able to do so.

That has upset many people who bought units for that specific purpose, including Sam Ciacco, a short-term rental owner.

“If the intention of the legislation is to return housing to long-term markets, the province shouldn’t have any opposition to requests for properties that were never part of the long-term housing pool to begin with,” Ciacco said.

Ciacco said he bought a unit in Playa Del Sol last summer and paid a premium price for the commercially zoned property.