District of Squamish will enforce a $500 fine per offence for those found flouting the district’s short-term rental bylaw.
The bylaw comes before the council for third reading on July 21.
District staff reviewed rates at other municipalities before setting the $500 rate per offence. This is the most common penalty rate, even as fines range from $100 up to $10,000, although the latter can only be enforced by a court order.
City of Vancouver charges $1,000 for infractions although staff note that the penalty in Squamish council be increased at council’s direction to deter people.
Province also updated the strata legislation in 2018 to allow strata corporations to impose a fine of up to $1,000 a day for residents who do not comply with a strata bylaw limiting or banning short-term rentals.
Running a short-term rental accommodation with a licence, not displaying the licence number when listing property, failing to display emergency contact information, failing to display fire safety plan, failing to keep, provide, or produce safety or other related records, and failing to designate individual when the owner is absent overnight could all result in a $500 fine in Squamish.
The district will hire a bylaw enforcement officer at a $42,000 annual pay to monitor short-term accommodations. It will also pay $16,000 annually to call for a third-party consultant to track and monitor short-term rental listings on the web.
The staff is recommending the most restrictive option, which would allow short-term rentals only in the principal residence, and not in the basement suite or in the coach house.
Thatguy says
So everyone who comes to town for 3-4 weeks worth of work can’t be rented to?
Michael Jones says
Actually this one surprises me. Usually the district is dumb and doesn’t know how to combat the housing prices in town. They showed how dumb they are when they showed their hand on the apartments in Valleycliffe in the phase 3 of crumpit woods. I see this move creating lots of new listings in town and may drive down the prices in the area around 5 to 10 percent and even rent may drop a few bucks. Can’t say I agree or disagree but I’m tired of some individuals just treating their home as a business and having people in/out like a local dispensary without a license. Time for this to end
Joann Daffern says
I am in total support of the Districts fines for short term rental bylaw. Now with all this additional condo building, the bylaw officer will have there hands quite full. I have seen many of my friends who have lived here for 15 years or more having to move out of town because: a) No Vacancy
b) Astronomical rental prices.