Legal challenge to B.C.’s short-term rental rules an ‘abuse of process’

There was no legal foundation to the argument that B.C.’s rules around short-term rentals are trampling the rights of property owners, according to a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision.

The Westcoast Association for Property Rights, a society of property owners and corporations across B.C. who rent out houses as short-term rentals, took aim at the province’s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act.

The society was joined by Angela Mason, the co-owner of Amala Vacation Rental Solutions, which has been handling management and maintenance for short-term rentals since 2016, according to the judgment.

The province’s rules, which came into effect May 1, 2024, are designed to bring short-term rentals to the long-term housing market, in part by limiting STRs to a host’s principle residence.

However, the legislation will extinguish the rights of property owners and lead to: “the destruction of a substantial number of small businesses, resulting in job losses and lost revenue,” according to the petitioners.

Mason’s vacation rental company used to manage 90 units. However, it’s now down to 65 units and has had to lay off many employees, according to court documents.

The petitioners asked for compensation for lost revenue as well as what they contend is the diminished value of their properties.

That request is “premature” as there hasn’t yet been a decision regarding a potential contravention of the act, stated the response from the province.

B.C.’s minister of housing appointed a director of enforcement who would impose administrative penalties on property owners. However, the director hasn’t made any decision dealing with violations of B.C. short-term rental rules, noted Justice Jasmin Ahmad.

Brining the petition before the director has exercised any statutory power is “an abuse of process,” Ahmad wrote.

There is no basis to grant relief to the property owners, the justice concluded.

“With no proper constitutional challenge, there is no ground on which to review or challenge the provisions of the [Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act],” Ahmad concluded.

Related: Short-term rentals proliferate in Tri-Cities amid attempted crackdown