Nancy Paine91裸聊视频檚 short-term rental business is dead in the water.

As co-founder and CEO of Victoria-based SpaceHost, Paine said she had been at the forefront of the Airbnb revolution for seven years, acting as a 91裸聊视频渓iaison91裸聊视频� for homeowners needing help with the logistics of running a listing on the accommodation site.

At the peak of business, her staff managed 65 properties, welcoming thousands of guests from around the world to what Cond茅 Nast Traveller magazine recently rated as the 91裸聊视频渂est city in the world.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚 have such great relationships with my homeowners,91裸聊视频� Paine said.

But Paine said that will all come to an end next spring when British Columbia enacts a law restricting short-term rentals to a homeowner91裸聊视频檚 principal residence. It91裸聊视频檚 among new housing regulations being rolled out over two years, with the government saying it wants to stop short-term rentals 91裸聊视频渢aking away homes people need.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚 expect business volumes to really plummet as of January and then, basically, I won91裸聊视频檛 have a business as of May 1,91裸聊视频� said Paine.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 planning to close my business as of May 1. It91裸聊视频檚 really sad because I91裸聊视频檝e worked really hard 91裸聊视频� I have 15 staff that I91裸聊视频檓 going to have to lay off,91裸聊视频� she added.

Short-term rental managers like Paine across B.C. are lamenting the demise of their business model, while real estate agents say owners of investment properties are being forced to sell at a loss or risk being unable to pay their mortgage.

Supporters of the policy agree about some of those impacts 91裸聊视频� the difference is they think it proves the policies are a success.

The government said the suite of reforms gives local governments stronger enforcement tools, and establish the province91裸聊视频檚 role in regulating short-term rentals. Details released Thursday said local governments could 91裸聊视频渙pt out91裸聊视频� of the principal-residence requirement annually if their community had a rental vacancy rate of three per cent or more for two consecutive years.

B.C. Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon said in an interview on Tuesday that the number of former short-term rentals going up for sale in Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna showed the policies were working.

He said Airbnb property managers should find new jobs.

91裸聊视频淲e know also that there91裸聊视频檚 a real shortage of property rental managers across the province 91裸聊视频� and so there are opportunities for those that are looking to stay in that field. But we need the housing for people in British Columbia.91裸聊视频�

Asked if he had compassion for owners forced to sell, or short-term rental managers going out of business, Kahlon said other people were 91裸聊视频渟truggling to find a place (to live) because of a shortage of spaces.91裸聊视频�

But Paine said that not all the housing that will be forced off Airbnb is suitable for long-term rentals.

She pointed to units in The Janion 91裸聊视频� a four-storey downtown Victoria building built in 1891 91裸聊视频� where some of her clients own units. It was given a 91裸聊视频渢ransient zoning91裸聊视频� designation ahead of the 1994 Commonwealth Games, when the city was short of space for visitors.

The building was among properties exempted from a 2017 municipal ban on short-term rentals on non-primary-residence units. City of Victoria spokeswoman Colleen Mycroft said buildings already let out short term at the time were allowed to continue operating on a 91裸聊视频渘on-conforming91裸聊视频� basis.

She said that in 2023, about 650 business licences were issued for units with 91裸聊视频渘on-conforming91裸聊视频� status and there were a total of 1,600 such units in the city.

Mycroft said the new provincial legislation will eliminate the non-conforming exception for buildings like The Janion.

But Paine said the small units in the building aren91裸聊视频檛 ideal for long-term rental.

91裸聊视频淵ou are literally opening up your bed in the living room 91裸聊视频� and then the beds flip out and is either turned up to a table or a couch,91裸聊视频� she said.

Paine said some of her clients aren91裸聊视频檛 bothering to spend about $1,500 renewing their short-term licenses in January.

She said some units are returning to the long-term market. Others will be used occasionally by owners.

Orion Rodgers, another short-term rental property manager in Victoria, manages about 30 properties. He said he also worried his business will be 91裸聊视频渆rased91裸聊视频� under the new law.

91裸聊视频淎nd all of my staff, they91裸聊视频檒l lose their jobs and I91裸聊视频檒l lose my business, which was a lawful business to operate,91裸聊视频� said Rodgers, who has seven employees.

Rodgers is also a spokesman for the Property Rights Association of B.C., a group representing about 2,500 property owners that he said was 91裸聊视频渂orn out of this legislation.91裸聊视频�

He said members are mostly middle-class, and aren91裸聊视频檛 91裸聊视频渟itting on the beach 91裸聊视频� drinking margaritas.91裸聊视频�

Rodgers said the government was using the timeline for the new legislation to 91裸聊视频渕anipulate91裸聊视频� owners into renting them out long term or put them up for sale.

91裸聊视频淧eople will face heavy losses 91裸聊视频� and the people that are going to buy them are not there. No one91裸聊视频檚 there yet because the interest rates are so high and the bar for entry to purchase is so high,91裸聊视频� said Rodgers.

The group had sent letters to Kahlon and municipalities in the hope of having their views reflected, but haven91裸聊视频檛 heard back.

In Kelowna, Amanda Van Der Lee91裸聊视频檚 company, How to Host Property Management and Design, manages properties, gives advice on interior design and provides other resources for short-term rental hosts.

She said most of her clients purchased condos in Kelowna to get into the real estate market and if forced to convert them to long-term rentals, they would have no or negative cash flow.

91裸聊视频淔or someone91裸聊视频檚 mortgage to go up $1,000 to $1,500 a month and not be able to get the amount of rental income on a monthly basis, if they go long term 91裸聊视频� it would force a sale and properties aren91裸聊视频檛 selling right now,91裸聊视频� said Van Der Lee. 91裸聊视频淭here are so many properties that are hitting the market.91裸聊视频�

Van Der Lee said owners are having their rights stripped away.

91裸聊视频淕od forbid people buy a vacation home in Kelowna and they91裸聊视频檙e able to subsidize some of the costs of that home by renting it out. Like, when did that become such a crime?91裸聊视频� asked Van Der Lee.

Tsur Somerville, associate professor with UBC91裸聊视频檚 Sauder School of Business, agreed the new rules are going to make some people suffer, but he has less compassion for investors.

91裸聊视频淵ou invested in the unit, there is risk in real estate and this was part of the risk. Nobody guaranteed an investor with the return,91裸聊视频� said Somerville.

Somerville said places including Vancouver and Toronto have raging housing crises and the notion of using a unit as a hotel instead of long-term rental housing strikes him as 91裸聊视频渧ery, very problematic.91裸聊视频�

A recent McGill University report, prepared by David Wachsmuth, a professor in the School of Urban Planning, said there was an average of 28,510 short-term rental listings active each day in B.C. in June 2023, a year-on-year increase of almost 18 per cent.

The report said short-term rentals were taking 16,810 units off the province91裸聊视频檚 long-term market, 19 per cent up on the year before.

91裸聊视频淭he COVID pandemic caused a massive decline in STR activity, but as of 2022 growth is strong across all regions of the province, and B.C.91裸聊视频檚 STR market is now at an all-time high,91裸聊视频� said the report.

91裸聊视频淚f the province91裸聊视频檚 STR market remains on its current trajectory, we expect STR-induced housing loss to increase 15.6 per cent to 19,400 by summer 2024, implying a further $23 increase in average monthly rents in medium and large cities in the province,91裸聊视频� the report continued.

Nathan Rotman, policy lead for Airbnb in Canada, said the report isn91裸聊视频檛 91裸聊视频渃redible91裸聊视频� and was paid for by the B.C. Hotel Association 91裸聊视频渨ith an interest in spreading negative information91裸聊视频� about short-term rental.

Rotman said Airbnb doesn91裸聊视频檛 oppose regulation and is willing to work with the province on implementation, but the new legislation goes 91裸聊视频渁 little bit too far91裸聊视频� and it will not 91裸聊视频渁lleviate the province91裸聊视频檚 housing crisis.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 going to make travel less affordable for one million British Columbians across the province while reducing the income for some short-term rental hosts,91裸聊视频� Rotman said in an interview last week.

Wachsmuth couldn91裸聊视频檛 be reached for comment, but Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, said the report was solid and was 91裸聊视频渓eading public policy in Canada.91裸聊视频�

Yan said when the concept of short-term rental began, it was 91裸聊视频渃asual91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� it could be someone91裸聊视频檚 spare room or an air mattress. Then professional players entered the industry and started to distort the rental market, he said.

There have been other problems 91裸聊视频� Yan described a 91裸聊视频渉orrible91裸聊视频� case in which a man described taking over strata councils to maintain the right for Airbnb listings in certain downtown Vancouver buildings.

He said the new technology represented by Airbnb91裸聊视频檚 online platform 91裸聊视频渁ffects our economy and our housing market.91裸聊视频�

A Desjardins report released last week seems to agree. It said short-term rentals likely contributed to the housing affordability crisis in Canada.

The report said the proliferation of short-term rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo had a significant effect on the affordability and availability of homes, reducing the number of units for long-term rentals and resale.

Kahlon said the report 91裸聊视频渃onfirms91裸聊视频� the need to 91裸聊视频渢ake action.91裸聊视频�

He said the government was now working with local governments on how to implement the new rules.

He said by later next year, the province would have a full registry of short-term rental hosts in B.C., and they would be required to ensure their data is correct.

Kahlon said owners who broke the rules would face fines of up to $3,000 per day and companies in violation would also be punished.

Paine said for now she is trying to keep her team 91裸聊视频渦pbeat and positive91裸聊视频� and they would be working throughout the holiday season.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e gonna have a really fun Christmas party,91裸聊视频� said Paine.

91裸聊视频淚 told them it91裸聊视频檚 business as usual until May because I want people to still be engaged in their jobs.91裸聊视频�

EDITOR91裸聊视频橲 NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified SpaceHost as Superhost. Our apologies for the error.

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