Housing has been a hot topic in Vancouver and other parts of British Columbia for several years. From cost to availability, this has been a tough journey for many.



On November 21st, 2022, the Government of B.C. announced changes to legislation that will remove rental restrictions in strata properties and introduced the new Housing Supply Act which will provide select municipalities with increased powers to address housing development. These changes will have implications for consumers, real estate licensees, and real estate developers in our province.

The change in provincial legislation then went into effect on Thursday, November 24, which automatically and immediately overrides any strata bylaw that restricts rentals in their building.

Finally, a change in a positive direction! What does this mean?

Amendments to the Strata Property Act will end all strata rental-restriction bylaws and limit age-restriction bylaws so that the only permitted age restriction is to preserve and promote seniors’ housing through the “55 and over” rule in strata housing. Moving forward, it will not be permissible for a strata to have 19-plus age restrictions; however, “seniors only” strata will still be allowed.

These actions are new steps to deliver homes in B.C., building on B.C.’s 10-year, $7-billion Homes for B.C. plan.

It is also believed that the legislation change will open up the possibility for some condominium owners to rent out a room in their unit if they were given the opportunity to do so. However, stratas can still ban the operation of short-term rentals — such as Airbnb — in their buildings. Existing provincial legislation permits stratas to enforce fines of up to $1,000 per day for short-term rentals that are not permitted under strata bylaws.

For more info visit  DailyHive