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Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act

Also known as: STRAA · BC Short-Term Rental Act

BC legislation limiting short-term rentals to the home the operator actually lives in, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling on the same lot. It took effect May 1, 2024 in most municipalities and reaches stays under 90 nights.

STRAA came into force May 1, 2024 in most BC municipalities. Short-term rentals (defined as rentals under 90 consecutive nights) are now restricted to the operator's principal residence, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on that same property. A provincial registry is now mandatory; platforms (Airbnb, VRBO) must validate listings against the registry.

Several categories are exempt: resort-area municipalities (e.g. Whistler, Tofino, Sun Peaks), First Nations lands, certain farm operations and agritourism, fishing and hunting lodges. Investors evaluating a property whose pencil relied on STR income must re-pencil at long-term-rental rates if the property is in a non-exempt municipality.

RTA Bill 14 (2024): Personal-Use Eviction Reform — A personal-use eviction in BC takes three months of notice and gives the tenant 21 days to dispute it, whoever is moving in.
BC Annual Rent Cap — The maximum allowable annual rent increase for existing BC tenancies, set yearly by the Residential Tenancy Branch: 2.
BC Residential Tenancy Act (SBC 2002, c. 78) — The BC Residential Tenancy Act (SBC 2002, c.
BC Notice to End Tenancy (RTB Forms) — The form a BC landlord must use to end a tenancy, set by the Residential Tenancy Branch.

@misc{bronsonjob-bc_straa,
  author       = {Job, Bronson},
  title        = {{BC Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act (STRAA)}},
  howpublished = {BC Real Estate Codex},
  year         = {2024},
  url          = {https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.straa},
  urldate      = {2026-11-06},
  note         = {Fact ID: bc.straa, version 2.}
}

APA — Press, journalism

Job, B. (2024). BC Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act (STRAA). *BC Real Estate Codex*. Retrieved 2026-11-06, from https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.straa

Plain link — Slack, email, Twitter

BC Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act (STRAA) — Bronson Job PREC, BC Real Estate Codex (2026-11-06). https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#bc.straa

Fact id: bc.straa · v2 · machine-readable: /api/v1/facts/by-id/bc.straa.json

License: This definition is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: "Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act", BC Real Estate Glossary by Bronson Job, https://www.bronsonjob.com/glossary/short-term-rental-act.

Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR® at Momentum Realty Inc.. GVR Member #6015742 · FVREB Member #FJOBBR

Related terms

See also