Sicamous, B.C. planning short-term rental regulation
Global News
The self-proclaimed "Houseboat Capital of Canada" is planning to become the latest community to regulate short-term rentals.
The self-proclaimed “Houseboat Capital of Canada” is planning to become the latest community to regulate short-term rentals.
The tourist town of Sicamous, B.C. is planning to bring in a new zoning bylaw that would regulate where short-term rentals can be located and what they need to operate.
The municipality has concerns about absentee owners who aren’t on hand when problems with renters arise, fairness for other accommodation providers, and the impact of short-term rentals on the long-term rental market and neighbours.
“If you are going to run a business you should be responsible for that business on the same principles as everybody else is,” Mayor Terry Rysz said.
Rysz sees a future for short-term rentals in Sicamous, saying they are “here to stay,” but he sees regulation as a way to create fairness for the many different interest groups.
“If you follow all the regulations and you play by the rules, then I don’t ever see us trying to take away your opportunity to be a short-term rental operator,” said Rysz.
“But we are going to put rules into place that if you are not looking after it,…we are going to enforce this.”
The proposed rules include requiring short-term rentals to have a business licence, provide off-street parking, stick to occupancy limits of two adults per bedroom, and have someone in the Sicamous area to manage the property.