Last updated: 11/26/18
Airbnb recently announced that it would implement a new listing protocol in Vancouver B.C. that makes it easier for hosts to comply with the applicable short-term rental by-law.
Airbnb hosts in Vancouver can add a short-term rental licence number, or claim an exemption directly from the Airbnb website.
The following article provides answers to frequently asked questions about the agreement and implementation process.
The City of Vancouver defines short-term rentals as rentals that are 30 days or less. As of April 19, 2018, you can only operate a short-term rental in the City of Vancouver if:
You can read more about the requirements for operating a short-term rental on the City of Vancouver's website.
In order to legally operate a short-term rental, you will need to obtain a short-term rental licence from the City of Vancouver. The process to obtain a licence is fully online and a licence is issued immediately upon completion of the process.
You can apply online for a short-term rental license on the City of Vancouver's website.
Anyone who meets the by-law requirements for operating a short-term rental and wishes to continue hosting or begin hosting must register for a short-term rental licence.
The City of Vancouver has a full checklist reviewing everything you need to obtain a licence. You can get the checklist here. It includes information on fire/building safety, good neighbour requirements and more.
As per the City of Vancouver, your primary residence is “where you live most of the year and the residential address you use for bills, identification, taxes, and insurance”.
If you have a self-contained suite (also known as secondary suite, basement apartment, granny suite or accessory dwelling unit) in your home, you can only share it for less than 30 days at a time if it is your primary dwelling unit. This includes self-contained basement suites and laneway homes.
If you have a secondary property, you cannot share it for less than 30 days at a time.
You do not need hardwired smoke alarms in order to have interconnected smoke alarms. Wireless smoke detectors are acceptable as long as they are interconnected. Interconnected smoke alarms mean they speak to each other—if one goes off in the kitchen, every smoke alarm in the house will go off as well. Read more about interconnected smoke alarms.
The City of Vancouver has provided a great template to help with your fire escape plan. Please refer to the City of Vancouver short-term rental handbook on page three to obtain the template. Read the handbook.
Provided it is your primary residence, yes, but you will need to attest to the City of Vancouver that you have your landlord’s permission to home share.
No. You only need to obtain one short-term rental licence per address, not per listing.
City of Vancouver rules prohibit hosts from sharing anything more than their primary residence. Hosting at two addresses is not allowed under the current regulatory framework and a licence number is only applicable to one address.
If you are hosting long-term guests (31+ days or more), and/or are listing a licensed hotel or bed and breakfast, you do not need to obtain a short-term rental licence. It is likely the City of Vancouver requires a different license for these types of operations. We recommend contacting the City directly via 3-1-1 if you wish to clarify which short-term rental licence is required for long-term, hotel, or bed and breakfast operators.
No. Only short-term rental listings located on UBC campus, the University Endowed Lands or the Musqueam territory are exempt from this by-law. If you are located in these areas, please claim the exemption on your hosting dashboard under registration.
You can apply for a new short-term rental licence, add an existing short-term rental licence, or claim an exemption by following these steps:
If you’ve already registered, please complete the steps above to add your existing short-term rental licence number to your listing.
To claim an exemption, follow the steps outlined above under the question, "How do I add a short-term rental licence to my listing?"
There is one time fee of $56 and an annual fee of $49. The $49 fee is prorated depending on the time of year you register.
The short-term rental licence expires on December 31st each year, and you will be prompted to renew it at that time. When you are completing the online short-term rental licence application with the City of Vancouver, if you include your email address you will get a reminder to update your short-term rental licence when it is close to expiring.
You must provide the following information:
You can read more about the application for a short-term rental licence on the City of Vancouver's website.
If you revoke your consent to sharing data with the City of Vancouver, you will be unable to continue hosting (as data sharing is a requirement of hosting). If you would still like to revoke your consent, please contact Airbnb Community Support and explain that you would like to revoke your consent to data sharing as part of Vancouver’s Pass-through Registration flow. The support specialist will remove your listing, note your revocation, and you will not be able to re-list your listing unless you contact us and expressly re-consent to data sharing.
Yes, you’ll need to renew your short-term rental business licence in Vancouver to continue hosting.
Yes. Vancouver’s annual business licences for short-term rentals expire after December 31 every year, regardless of when you got your licence.
The City of Vancouver sends out renewal notices every year in November. You’ll receive your notification in whichever method you used to registers. We’ll also send you a reminder about your renewal.
Every year.
Renew every year before December 31 to avoid a late payment penalty.
Any renewal payment the City of Vancouver receives after December 31 will incur a late payment penalty. The late payment penalty is the greater of:
Renewals aren’t prorated. Regardless of when you plan to start hosting guests in the year, you will incur the late payment penalty if you don’t renew on-time. To avoid late payment penalties, please remember to renew by December 31 of the prior year.
You could also face further enforcement from the City for not displaying an updated licence number.
There are a number of different ways you can renew your licence:
The fastest way to renew is online. You’ll need to complete your renewal with Vancouver, then update your listings on Airbnb.
After you submit payment, you should be able to print out your new licence.
Pay by cheque or money order issued to the City of Vancouver.
Note: Credit card cheques are not accepted.
Send your payment and renewal notice to the following mailing address:
Revenue Services, PO Box 7878, Vancouver, BC V6B 4E2
Processing times for mail renewal may vary, but you can typically expect:
If you plan on renewing by mail, it’s generally a good idea to renew earlier to make sure you’ll have your licence number in time for the following year.
If all of your information has remained the same (including contact information, billing, and licence number) you can go to the following address:
Revenue Services, 453 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4, Canada
Hours: M-F, 8:30am-5pm
If any of your details have changed, you’ll need to update them and pay at the following address:
Building and Development Services Centre, 515 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4A8, Canada
Hours: M/W/F, 8:30am-4:30pm; T/Th 8:30am-4:00pm
Both locations can accept payment and issue your new registration number.
Accepted payment methods include cash, debit card, credit card, cheque, or money order. If you use a cheque or money order, you’ll need to make it payable to the City of Vancouver.
Note: You can usually expect a long line from November to February during our busy times.
Your business licence number will be different every year, so you’ll need to update your licence number on your listing page after every renewal to complete the process.
Update your listings on Airbnb after you receive your new licence number:
The annual fee to renew your licence is $51CDN.