B.C.’s housing minister says he’s well aware of problem homes operating as short-term rentals around the province despite new restrictions that went into effect this past spring.
“I have heard way too many cases of this happening in communities,” Ravi Kahlon told Global News.
One of the homes getting attention as of late is a house in Kelowna’s Upper Mission neighbourhood.
Residents say the home has had a constant flow of renters for about three years resulting in all kinds of problems.
“Parties going on, we had a tour bus show up and drop people off, we had abusive tenants in the house that were renting it, they were swearing and intimidating and yelling at the neighbours,” Dave Montpetit, an area resident, said on Monday.
Just earlier this month, Montpetit took his dog for an early-morning walk when he witnessed some unsavoury behaviour.
“I heard loud music followed by moaning and groaning; there were people having sex in the pool, utterly shocked, ” Montpetit
What’s also upsetting the residents is they believe the homeowners are in contravention of the new provincial legislation because the home does not appear to be their primary residence.
The rules state a principal residence is a home in which a person resides for a longer period of time in a calendar year than any other place.
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“It’s always dark, ” said Trevor Bigelow, another concerned neighbour. “If there’s not tenants there renting, it is dark.”
On Wednesday, Kahlon said the home is on the province’s radar.
“We are aware of the situation in Kelowna. We have an enforcement unit right now that’s investigating that property and we are hoping to take action,” Kahlon said.
“If they find that this is not the principal residence, that this is an investment property, they will notify the platforms, which will have a certain amount of days to remove the listing and not put the listing back up.”
While proving how many days of the year an owner lives at a “principal” home can be challenging, that is about to change in January when the government launches a new provincial registry that will make enforcement a lot easier.
“Every single short-term rental will have to register through a provincial registry system, which will then be connected to the Ministry of Finance, who collects data on whose homes are principal residences, whose homes are investment properties, and who owns the homes,” Kahlon said.
“That will help us both enforce the short-term rentals in a better way, but also ensure that everyone’s paying taxes the way that they’ve been saying that they should be.”
The City of Kelowna confirmed the Viewcrest Court home does have a valid municipal licence.
A city spokesperson said that bylaw officers have recently gone door to door in the neighbourhood to inform residents how to properly document bylaw infractions such as noise or other un-neighbourly disturbances, adding that, “Following this process will help staff track incidents so that warnings can be issued and the matter escalated if necessary to fines and further enforcement.”
The city is presently actively monitoring and investigating a number of homes in Kelowna operating as short-term rentals.
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