Requirement for short-term rental platforms to remove non-registered listings delayed by one month: B.C. (2025)

A requirement for short-term rental platforms to remove non-registered listings in B.C. has been pushed back by one month, the province says.

The requirement for the listings to be removed was set to come into effect on May 1.

“In response to requests from STR platforms to allow for additional time to complete technical work on platforms’ validation systems, the minister of housing and municipal affairs is moving to have the timeline extended for when platforms are legally required to validate provincial registration numbers and automatically remove illegal listings,” the province said in a news release.

The requirement for short-term rental platforms to remove non-registered listings will now come into effect on June 2.

Another requirement to automatically cancel bookings from hosts without a valid provincial registration number was also set to come into effect on June 1, but that has been delayed to June 23.

“During this period, the Province will continue working with platforms to ensure any technical challenges or concerns are addressed,” the Ministry of Housing said.

“Hosts are still expected to register their listings by May 1.“

The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs says more than 20,000 listings have been registered ahead of the May 1 deadline.

Alex Howell, policy lead in Canada for Airbnb, says the company will continue to work to this new deadline.

“Airbnb remains committed to working with the government as they implement their new system, and while we’re glad they recognized the need for a delay, we’re concerned about the broader impact this law will have on peak summer tourism — especially at a time when more Canadians are travelling domestically,” Howell said in an email to CHEK News.

“In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, these rules will make travel in B.C. more expensive and hurt local hosts trying to make ends meet.”

Short-term rental restrictions announced in October 2023

The new short-term rental restrictions were announced by the B.C. government in October 2023.

At the time, the stated goal was to bring units back into the long-term rental market as a measure to try and address rising rent prices in the province.

READ PREVIOUS: B.C. to bring in new rules on short-term rentals to create more housing

The ban on short-term rentals came into effect on May 1, 2024, however, requirements for the platforms were set to come in one year later.

For the deadline last year, many rentals and companies shut down in order to be in compliance with the rules.

READ PREVIOUS: Short-term rental businesses face last day in operation ahead of B.C.’s ban

B.C.’s Premier, David Eby, recently told CHEK News he was open to reconsidering the short-term rental restrictions in the future if “healthy rental levels” return.

READ MORE: B.C. Premier David Eby considers easing short-term rental restrictions

With files from CHEK’s Mary Griffin, Mackenzie Read and The Canadian Press