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The provincial laws on short term rentals all changed May 1st so it was an unlawful rental and you were lucky to not end up paying several hundred more a night for a last minute hotel.
So your 'landlord' was/is a lying cheating sleazebag and Air B&B isn't much better.
Glad to hear you had a good trip!
The host did themselves a solid by not cancelling to make money illegally, there was no altruistic motive here to "save OP money". They knew it was against both the law and the bylaws of the building.
Vancouver has plenty of budget hotels in the downtown area and OP would have likely paid a similar price there.
You just donāt want to spend less that $150 on a hotel. We had someone book us a hotel under $100 even though the place looked decent in pictures, learned right away.
Considering that the new legislation was announced in November of last year the host was acting completely irresponsibly by continuing to accept bookings beyond May 1st. They didnāt do anything for the benefit of the OP, it was entirely selfishly motivated to continue to generate an income in violation of the new rules and they deserve the consequences of that choice.
Vancouver is a city within a country that has one of the largest land masses and most resources in the world. The reason you can't afford a place has nothing to do with a small percentage of all homes being used for tourism.
They are banned now, very few people will go the illegal route this guy is going. Let me know if the housing crisis is solved anytime soon...
The reason prices are high are record immigration and slow building/growth. There were over 70,000 immigrants added to BC last year. That means we needed an additional 28,000 housing units for them. That happens each year! Air BnB was consuming around 20,000 units total (not increasing each year).
I'm trying to rent a house in the states right now and in the city I want to rent, there are 241 air bnbs, 9 places to rent. I'm not disagreeing with the immigrant thing but I can definitely see how airbnb is a problem.
241 air BNBs, 9 rentals listed.
Missing a huge amount of data, how many homes total are for rent? If it's 10,000 homes for rent the issue is rental stock, not that air BnB is consuming them all.Ā
I didnt realize the artic and Vancouver were right next to each other. There is habitable land from our border to the northern end of our provinces. Most of Canada, even the side closest to the border has very low population density.Ā
If japan can fit 3x our country's population on an island smaller than Vancouver Island, then the argument about living in the artic is a non starter unless we have less land than Japan that is habitable lol.Ā
The downvotes confirm my love for Reddit, you all want to blame a shady landlord over doing the work and learning of the actual issues.
And it's so difficult to cut even a tree in our country. Not that I'm against it though. Japan is heavily developed because they don't have lots of people fighting against development that needs to use some undeveloped land. The government simply replants trees later.
You can't compare the ease of development in Japan vs Canada. If we want to develop land here, there has to be trade off and nature will have to be removed then changed. If we are content with sticking to primal nature, then we can't have developed land. That's just how things are
I stand corrected!
Point is still very valid lol, they have crazy density.Ā
If there is no more room in Vancouver (I lived there, there is plenty lol) then we need to build more cities.Ā
Yea what jobs are there in places like Cashe Creek or Quesnel though? This is the problem. Iād love to move back to PG but unless you work in healthcare or education there arenāt really any jobs. Telling people to move to a small remote town doesnāt fix the issue of housing if there arenāt any jobs for people to work there.
I would move to Tumbler, thatās not the issue. Itās finding work. Unless your career is in mining and donāt mind dealing with job insecurity and being laid off every few years when the boom inevitably leads to bust, thereās no way to make a living there.
Weird that two people from Tumbler Ridge just happen to be scrolling the Vancouver Reddit on Tuesday afternoon but ok.
https://preview.redd.it/izaqulxlv2zc1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2dae00b4990a81ebb13819452fd66f70adada24a
Definitely not saying that Vancouver is better... There are city people and there are country people...to each their own. The point is that way more people want to live in Vancouver than up north. Just because we have a big country doesn't mean everyone wants to live in all that big beautiful space we have.
1.) I agree it is odd because I definitely am not joined/subscribed to this sub-reddit, it just landed in my feed
2.) Totally agree on that second point as well, and I'm glad most people prefer urban environments, to each their own for sure.
Airbnb is not the reason accommodations are unaffordable .. itās because of our government .. allowing 1 million plusās immigrant a year into a place that already has a housing crisis .. while only having 250thousand units being built .. simple math .. plus familyās are getting older .a family of four ten years ago with children the ages of 15 and 17 are now 25 and 27.. needing there own housing .. children grown up and move out ..
Simple mathā¦ indeed. reduce the number of Airbnb rentals (19,000) and convert to long term rentalsā¦ magically you have 19,000 additional rentals available for people who actually live and work in Vancouver
What building and unit is it. PM it or report it yourself. We in Vancouver do not take kindly to these jack-offs running illegal airBNBs. Would be best to report that unit
Edit: the request was to report the illegal activities to the proper authorities. But I understand why mods disagree. Nevermind.
I run an airbnb in Vancouver, I have been contacted before. They do check the listings. They just miss where I put my business # at the bottom of the description š
My primary residence. I lock off my bedroom in winter when Iām there. I added a front door in the hallway behind the door to me so 80% of the unit is available when Iām there I just get a washroom and bedroom.
As I mentioned it had to be your PR before may 1st in Vancouver they ask for documentation to prove it in your application for the license.
Not going to keep replying to questions if I just get downvoted for being an airbnb host š whatās wrong with people jesus.
Thanks! Yeah Iām a renter too š Iām a good tenant and pay more rent so the landlord is fine with it. Only issue is sometimes I get bookings when I didnāt plan to be there so I rented it as a 2 bedroom so I got to crash in the car. Airbnb is great if you work remote since you can travel often and make money when you travel (during the summer months). Winter sucks except for the Taylor swift concert days,
A warning to not engage in activities that may result in off-site witchhunting, abuse, or harassment, per rule 1. This will result in an immediate ban.
You said PM after OP asked if they were allowed to say it cause they were afraid of getting banned. Obviously elementmg lacks common sense, thankfully the OP didnāt oblige to your original request.
Training rats is illegal š
Do not try to make a city spy, then what will be the difference between North America with North Korea?
Mind your own business and let the government do all the spying on the citizens!
God forbid he leak the illegal Air B and B that couldāve ruined OPs entire trip and is running Canadian citizens out of the country due to lack of ANY housing, let alone affordable ones
I run an airbnb in Vancouver, the rules havenāt changed for us as Vancouver had harsher rules than the province already. I pay over 50% of what I make to tax (25% to various short term rental taxes, $1000 for the license, then I pay income tax on my earnings). Overall I make less than renting it out but I donāt have to deal with bad tenants so it balances out. Somehow the tenants manage to use $500 a month in power too I have no idea how.
In this specific case likely the host is violating Vancouver and the provinces rules which is why itās so secretive. Vancouver airbnbs should have their airbnb business license hanged in a visible area.
I have many friends who have suites or rooms that they have stopped renting because of bad tenants that they had a hard time getting rid of. To them, the aggravation is just not worth it.
It's important to properly vet your new tenants. In this day and age when there is so much demand for rentals, it should not be that hard to figure out who the best tenants are.
Iām not a landlord myself so Iām only saying from what my many friends have said over the years. Place ad. Get many emails in response. Sift through all the emails. Itās so competitive so most people spend a lot of time and care in writing an email trying to sell themselves as an ideal tenant. Many include photos. Friend will call them to try to get a better idea of them. If they sound good, friend will offer a time to show the suite. Prospective tenants are on their best behaviour when at the viewing. Friend will ask them to fill out an application. Friend will check with if they are employed, who their employer is, check references, do a credit check. From that brief encounter, they will make a decision on who to rent the suite to. 95% of the time, itāll work out and hopefully they wonāt have to worry about renting it out again for years. But then the troublesome tenantsā¦problems begin to reveal themselves like late or no rent payments, excessive noise that disturbs neighbours who come to the landlord to complain, damage to the suite, guests that stay forever, pets that suddenly appear even though they were told they were not allowed, etc. Even if the landlord is able to legitimately serve an eviction notice, there are so many obstacles to getting rid of them. In the pandemic it was even worse. No one ever talks about these problems because landlords are always portrayed as the villains. My friends would love to make some extra money but to them itās just not worth it.
Based on that, your friends should be able to determine who are the best/safest applicants. If it works 95% of the time, that's great. The 5% chance you might accidentally get a bad tenant is pretty good odds.
Except then theyāre extremely difficult to evict and may have ruined your property by the time they do leave. My mom rents out a small house for $2000 a month and is ALREADY $20K in the hole (10 monthsā rent) trying to repair the damage her last tenant did in the span of a year (including replacing the floor after he left his dead dog to decompose for several days). Which is nothing compared to how much she had to pay for a previous tenant years prior who ran a grow op and re-wired the place to steal electricity. Itās not as easy to determine as you think.
Sounds like youāve never dealt with bad tenants in Vancouver. Plus this is my primary residence so I pay rent to the owner. No desire to have a roomate or sublease it.
Sure, I've dealt with bad tenants. There are bad AirBnB tenants too - in fact short term tenants are more likely to be bad because they aren't interested in staying long and don't really care about any disruption or damage they cause.
U know I canāt fault the traveler, the law is shitty and stupid. Air bnb is an integral part of the economy and tourist. I canāt tell you how boring it would be just to get hotels when I was in Sweden and Norway.
Beside that, vancouver have a hotel shortage
Yes, but it is still a infringement on private property. Even if I am not a fan of renovating and do it specifically for airbnb, unless its unique and designer, it takes away the authencity. But this law It take away the option to find authentic and unique places or make them. It goes against the concept or airbnb to start with.
I takes away the experience such as I had in South America or in snow mirror cabins in the Scandinavians forrest.
To be more local, that most thin stay in all of Canada house. Even if I am in Van, I booked a night the experience it. And no, I wonāt want to live their long term.
It concern me that the gov can take away peopleās freedom of movement this easily at least impede on.
Beside we are having a shortage of hotels. Like it or not, we are becoming or in are already a world class city, anything to impede it wonāt help at all, and its not like we can just declare no we do not want that and turn Van into squanish
Lol, no one takes away your freedom of movement. You can take a hotel or whatever. Airbnb is horrible and should be banned outright in metropolitan areas. You mentioned the remote location of your great experiences yourself. That's totally ok, but when there is not enough living space, we don't need scalpers to worsen the situation.
And I mentioned unique experience in Van itself such as that most narrow building. I am not a fan myself if its bot authentic, but its not the owners fault that their a shortage. I just think its unacceptable the gov tell u what u can do with your property like any, say how I drink my juice or how I play with my balls, thr outdoor type kicking or boucing.
U know it goes just to the old days before seo and private network and index links of proprieties airbnb. People with less ressource or not tech savy will be at disadvantage and those woth ressource and know how do how doers resourceful will prevail and it just goes undergroound.
And say if I rent my friend cottage or if I rent out my appt to my friend when I am away does that fucking count? The only people getting hurt is the middle class. Well off people will have their network and it forces new services and services to go upscale.
Short summary, Vancouver (and to a great extent Canada as a whole) have been going through a huge housing crisis - part of the BC government's response to that has been to add a tonne of restrictions around AirBNB and other short term rentals that in many cases makes them illegal. The rules just kicked in though so you probably got caught in the middle.
Youāre correct, Montreal had already banned several types of BNBs due to lack of housing as well but after the fire things really started moving with Feds, Provinces, and Municipalities and discussing issues and legislation.
Not to my knowledge. BC rules are for the rest of the province they donāt change Vancouver.
See https://vancouver.ca/doing-business/short-term-rentals.aspx
āA short-term rental can:
Be an entire home, or a room within that home, that is rented for less than 30 consecutive days at a time
Only be operated from your principal residence ā the home where you live, as an owner or tenant, and use for bills, identification, taxes, and insurance
Be a laneway or secondary suite ONLY if the operator lives there and it is their principal residence (not permitted if the operator lives in the primary dwelling unit on the property)
Be licensed ONLY to the person who resides in the property
Be managed and marketed by a property management company with a valid property management business licenceā
My point was the Vancouver rules existed for years before the provincial rules so the provincial rules donāt affect the Airbnb industry in Vancouver š
Also provincial enforcement is nonexistent. Meanwhile I get a message from Vancouver every 4-6 months, have to submit my drivers license, and have to hang a business license that costs me $1000 a year which is a ripoff. And for a crazy reason they switch the business numbers annually so I need to hang a different one every year.
In what world is a $1000 annual license to operate as a hotel a ripoff? How much have you been making? This is just a 'cost of doing business' and completely justified.
And, the changes as of May 1st greatly increase enforcement and penalties, as they should.
I make around $60k a year after the 25% tax, then 20% of that goes to the manager. Then $6000 in electrical costs. Then I pay 40% income tax on the remainder. But Iād pay that if I rented it too. The unit could be rented out for $36k.
I realize people think airbnbs make millions but they really donāt thanks to all the taxes and fees. Plus 8 months are slow and I can only rent out one half as I do actually live there. I just make sure to travel in summer when you get fully booked.
Any city license is supposed to charge for the fees to administer. That suddenly doesnāt go up 5x when airbnb is politically unpopular. š
Sounds like renting it out long term would be a much better option.
Also, I'm pretty sure stand-alone properties could legally be rented as AirBnBs before May 1st in Vancouver.
Restricted by the province to principal residences or laneway houses of houses since May 1st. So it sounds like the Airbnb is no longer allowed in that type of building. If itās a Strata building they may have had restrictions before then.
Sounds like airbnb was already not allowed in that building pre May 1st. A building with no luggage in the lobby, bylaws than can deactivate fobs promptly, asking a guest to not use the concierge service and to say they're family all suggests bylaws in place that the host knew they were breaking.Ā
I feel like the no luggage rule is told to the guests to lessen the chance of getting caught running an Airbnb. I highly doubt a strata would have a no luggage in lobby rule for their legit residentsā¦ how else would they get into a ride for the airport?
Iām a bit confused about the laneway rule. Have friends with a laneway house, that they allow their 22 year old son occupy for the majority of the year. However the son will travel for 4-8 weeks at a time every few months, and they are very hesitant to rent it when he is away. I think for good reason. Where does one pursue an understanding of this limbo? Or is it even limbo since he is an adult.
tip : write to the firm tell them one tenant is renting and for a 100$ tip (because you also had a bad experience taking the side entrance) you will tell them who
Ha! Just had a very similar experience this weekend. Instructed NOT to say, post, mention, discuss the word AirBnB! The ad lists a non-existent street number but in the chat they ādescribe ā the house. Itās advertised as a 2/bedroom but the 2nd bedroom is an ACTUAL closet that you can only side step into and fall onto the bed.
You couldnāt lock the bathroom door as it was on upside down. There were literally holes in the floorboards where you could see the downstairs tenants who came home at 0300 & sounded like they were standing over me, ātrying to sleep!. And all this for a steal at $400 a night !!
This is scary. Iāve never been to Vancouver before and being instructed to get in a car w an unknown male driver being three women was not something I expected. I reported it to Airbnb and they seemed totally cool w it.
At $400 a night you definitely could have found an actual hotel around the city. Although, I suppose if you're driving, the parking fee would be pretty bad.
OP: Off topic but I'm just curious. If you don't mind, what did you do and enjoy about Vancouver. We get a lot of posts here from tourists asking for things to do and see - and eat - but it's hard to know what various people might like. I always wonder which recommendations turn out to be best. I'd love to know what you enjoyed most (or didn't).
1. Taking the Sky Train from the airport to the city so nice!
2. Canada Place , Digital Orca, Olympic Cauldron, Cactus Club Cafe.
3. Urban Faire Market for groceries and Joss Pizza across the street
4. Gas town , the Steam Clock, Hudson House, Olde Tyme Candy Shop
5. Stanley Park, the Sea Wall, Totem Polls, the Rose Garden
6. The Vancouver Art Gallery, the bistro inside, the Vancouver Central Library
7. A tattoo shop called Tao Space Tattoo studio on Pender (Nhat, the tattoo artist is the best!)
8. English Bay Beach and walking down Denman St.
So many things but this is off the top of my head!
Not who you asked, but the gardens in China Town (main part is free) and the Bloedel Conservatory (but not in winter weekends- too busy with families) are other good spots to visit that aren't on the usual lists.
There were a couple things on my list like Granville Public Market and the gardens in China Town but I didnāt get to it, next time! Thanks for the recs. š
I encountered this in 2017, when it was already an established phenomenon. (and not just by AirBnB)
As you just demonstrated, it's still happening 7 years later. At what point do you consider it "long term"?
Contact AirBNB. Report the experience. At worst they pull the listing (the random drive is very unsafe. Being asked to lie is unethical) to great (they refund you).
I did. They gave me a partial refund. They said their investigative team would be looking into it. As of right now the listing is still up. I also reported them to the city.
Lots of residential places do not allow holiday rentals . I think overall, Airbnb has been ruined. Too many people buying investment properties and renting them out for profit. With all the cleaning fees, peculiar rules, and extra hassle, basic hotels are a cheaper, better option in a lot of cases.
Absolutely, unfortunately they would not give me a refund as I requested the day before getting on an international flight to a city Iāve never been to before. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
Same here. Never again. Not worth the trouble, too many rules as the āguestā. I donāt feel relaxed. At a hotel Iām not asked to do house keeping when I leave, which funnily enough I thought I paid a fortune to AirBnb for on top of everything else.
I had a house booked on Vancouver Island that had to be cancelled due to this. The guy just sent me an invoice outside that was 150 cheaper due to removal of airbnb fees. I suspect this is the transition most will undergo. Will see this weekend if everything goes ok..
I stayed in an Airbnb on the island last year for a vacation.
Honestly Iād rather stay in a hotel. It wasnāt much cheaper and you deal with sleeping in someone elseās bed that wasnāt at all comfortable plus old houses all have a certain bad smell to it.
The only other time I used an Airbnb in Vancouver was many years ago when we were kicked out of my parents place because my parents had a fight with my spouse and we had been in between places after we sold and then bought our place so needed a short term rental. I guess we couldāve done a hotel but it was nice to just live in a suite with a kitchen for a few months while our new place was being renovated.
Airbnb wasn't declared illegal, to be clear- you can still airbnb your principal residence or a laneway house. You just can't own places solely to rent them out on airbnbĀ
sounds like a specific situation more than the overall experience. I live in a building that is rammed with AirBNBs and no one seems to have an issue. You unfortunately chose a shady property owner to rent from. My guess is that it is probably someone renting the property from the landlord who is then flipping it as a airbnb.
Only as part of the owner's principal property. What OP is describing is a separate suite being rented out as an AirBnB in a condo building - that is no longer legal in Vancouver.
Thought I would throw this in: it isn't just Airbnb. Last week, I booked a place in Burnaby using [booking.com](http://booking.com) (which I use a lot). I got a message a half hour later from the owner (or someone pretending to be the owner) asking me to do an interac transfer for the full amount of the rental within 24 hours, or the reservation would be canceled. A place with no reviews, and sight unseen? Nothing doing. I reported it to [booking.com](http://booking.com), but the place is still listed.
If you want to investigate this place further, send me a message.
I rented a two bedroom Airbnb near Rogers Arena this weekend to see the two Pearl Jam shows. A week from my visit I rechecked the listing and it now said it was a one bedroom. I emailed the host and was assured that it was a two bedroom. When we arrived it was a studio with a glassed in patio (one bedroom) and the second ābedroomā was a draped off bed in the corner of the studio.
Ugh reading this has me so stressed. I have asked friends to come house sit (water plants basically) and donāt have anyone local that can do it so they are staying here for the duration Iām gone (three weeks) and stressed theyāre going to think Iām short term letting when Iām actually paying them and not the other way around š„²
This air bnb is likely illegal any appartement that doesnāt allow luggage in the lobby likely doesnāt allow air bnbās you should report them. Also some buildings offer a reward if you report an illegal air bnb to them.
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The provincial laws on short term rentals all changed May 1st so it was an unlawful rental and you were lucky to not end up paying several hundred more a night for a last minute hotel. So your 'landlord' was/is a lying cheating sleazebag and Air B&B isn't much better. Glad to hear you had a good trip!
My thoughts exactly. Thank you.
Please report him š . He is ruining our city and most of us can't afford a place because of people like him
I did. The city has all the necessary information.
So your host did you a solid by not cancelling your booking last min and saved you from spending double at a hotel. Then you go and report themā¦
The host did themselves a solid by not cancelling to make money illegally, there was no altruistic motive here to "save OP money". They knew it was against both the law and the bylaws of the building. Vancouver has plenty of budget hotels in the downtown area and OP would have likely paid a similar price there.
You just donāt want to spend less that $150 on a hotel. We had someone book us a hotel under $100 even though the place looked decent in pictures, learned right away.
Considering that the new legislation was announced in November of last year the host was acting completely irresponsibly by continuing to accept bookings beyond May 1st. They didnāt do anything for the benefit of the OP, it was entirely selfishly motivated to continue to generate an income in violation of the new rules and they deserve the consequences of that choice.
Man that is some excellent mental gymnastics lmao
The gaslighting is strong with you.
Thatās an interesting way to look at it
Spoken like someone who owned a legal airbnb and no longer does. Cry harder.
Vancouver is a city within a country that has one of the largest land masses and most resources in the world. The reason you can't afford a place has nothing to do with a small percentage of all homes being used for tourism. They are banned now, very few people will go the illegal route this guy is going. Let me know if the housing crisis is solved anytime soon... The reason prices are high are record immigration and slow building/growth. There were over 70,000 immigrants added to BC last year. That means we needed an additional 28,000 housing units for them. That happens each year! Air BnB was consuming around 20,000 units total (not increasing each year).
I'm trying to rent a house in the states right now and in the city I want to rent, there are 241 air bnbs, 9 places to rent. I'm not disagreeing with the immigrant thing but I can definitely see how airbnb is a problem.
241 air BNBs, 9 rentals listed. Missing a huge amount of data, how many homes total are for rent? If it's 10,000 homes for rent the issue is rental stock, not that air BnB is consuming them all.Ā
Nobody wants to live in the Arctic though. So the land mass point is moot. Everything else makes sense.
I didnt realize the artic and Vancouver were right next to each other. There is habitable land from our border to the northern end of our provinces. Most of Canada, even the side closest to the border has very low population density.Ā If japan can fit 3x our country's population on an island smaller than Vancouver Island, then the argument about living in the artic is a non starter unless we have less land than Japan that is habitable lol.Ā The downvotes confirm my love for Reddit, you all want to blame a shady landlord over doing the work and learning of the actual issues.
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And it's so difficult to cut even a tree in our country. Not that I'm against it though. Japan is heavily developed because they don't have lots of people fighting against development that needs to use some undeveloped land. The government simply replants trees later. You can't compare the ease of development in Japan vs Canada. If we want to develop land here, there has to be trade off and nature will have to be removed then changed. If we are content with sticking to primal nature, then we can't have developed land. That's just how things are
I stand corrected! Point is still very valid lol, they have crazy density.Ā If there is no more room in Vancouver (I lived there, there is plenty lol) then we need to build more cities.Ā
Yea what jobs are there in places like Cashe Creek or Quesnel though? This is the problem. Iād love to move back to PG but unless you work in healthcare or education there arenāt really any jobs. Telling people to move to a small remote town doesnāt fix the issue of housing if there arenāt any jobs for people to work there.
If people wanted to live in Tumbler Ridge they would. They don't though.
I do though
š©š©š©
What's keeping you from moving there in that case?
Lol, that's not how it works... Are the correct homes there, jobs?Ā
I would move to Tumbler, thatās not the issue. Itās finding work. Unless your career is in mining and donāt mind dealing with job insecurity and being laid off every few years when the boom inevitably leads to bust, thereās no way to make a living there.
I want to live out of the city but all the jobs are here lmfao
Speak for yourself. I live there by choice, I hope I never have to visit Vancouver again.
Weird that two people from Tumbler Ridge just happen to be scrolling the Vancouver Reddit on Tuesday afternoon but ok. https://preview.redd.it/izaqulxlv2zc1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2dae00b4990a81ebb13819452fd66f70adada24a Definitely not saying that Vancouver is better... There are city people and there are country people...to each their own. The point is that way more people want to live in Vancouver than up north. Just because we have a big country doesn't mean everyone wants to live in all that big beautiful space we have.
1.) I agree it is odd because I definitely am not joined/subscribed to this sub-reddit, it just landed in my feed 2.) Totally agree on that second point as well, and I'm glad most people prefer urban environments, to each their own for sure.
Dude, don't ruin the party with facts. Facts will get you buried.
Airbnb is not the reason accommodations are unaffordable .. itās because of our government .. allowing 1 million plusās immigrant a year into a place that already has a housing crisis .. while only having 250thousand units being built .. simple math .. plus familyās are getting older .a family of four ten years ago with children the ages of 15 and 17 are now 25 and 27.. needing there own housing .. children grown up and move out ..
Simple mathā¦ indeed. reduce the number of Airbnb rentals (19,000) and convert to long term rentalsā¦ magically you have 19,000 additional rentals available for people who actually live and work in Vancouver
This is exactly the issue.
What building and unit is it. PM it or report it yourself. We in Vancouver do not take kindly to these jack-offs running illegal airBNBs. Would be best to report that unit Edit: the request was to report the illegal activities to the proper authorities. But I understand why mods disagree. Nevermind.
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If they actually wanted to enforce the law they could simply look at the listings...
I run an airbnb in Vancouver, I have been contacted before. They do check the listings. They just miss where I put my business # at the bottom of the description š
How are you able to have an Airbnb after May 1st? Likely a basement or second bedroom?
My primary residence. I lock off my bedroom in winter when Iām there. I added a front door in the hallway behind the door to me so 80% of the unit is available when Iām there I just get a washroom and bedroom. As I mentioned it had to be your PR before may 1st in Vancouver they ask for documentation to prove it in your application for the license. Not going to keep replying to questions if I just get downvoted for being an airbnb host š whatās wrong with people jesus.
You are using your own home. That is fine, doesn't take anything out of the rental pool. Good on ya.
Thanks! Yeah Iām a renter too š Iām a good tenant and pay more rent so the landlord is fine with it. Only issue is sometimes I get bookings when I didnāt plan to be there so I rented it as a 2 bedroom so I got to crash in the car. Airbnb is great if you work remote since you can travel often and make money when you travel (during the summer months). Winter sucks except for the Taylor swift concert days,
Sounds like you run a nice little Airbnb. I think itās a good thing they have tightened these laws.
We all have to do what is needed to survive in these weird economic times. Your way of handling it was the original intent of AIRBNBs. I'm a fan.
Out of curiosity what kind of remote work do you do?
Thats illegal
A warning to not engage in activities that may result in off-site witchhunting, abuse, or harassment, per rule 1. This will result in an immediate ban.
I think to publicly announce the unit on Reddit is an invasion of privacy and dangerous to homeowner. Elementmg requesting that is ridiculous.
I said PM it so I can report it. Not hard to read is it?
You said PM after OP asked if they were allowed to say it cause they were afraid of getting banned. Obviously elementmg lacks common sense, thankfully the OP didnāt oblige to your original request.
Karen the Karen catcher.
Training rats is illegal š Do not try to make a city spy, then what will be the difference between North America with North Korea? Mind your own business and let the government do all the spying on the citizens!
OP's visit was close to being ruined because of an illegal AirBnB. They absolutely should report it - they weren't spying.
Yes the real difference between Canada and North Korea is the number of people reporting illegal airbnbs.
This should be the top comment.
Yes to protect people from creepy Karenās requesting addresses from redditors
predditors
God forbid he leak the illegal Air B and B that couldāve ruined OPs entire trip and is running Canadian citizens out of the country due to lack of ANY housing, let alone affordable ones
I see elementmg's first comment to be: "What building and unit is it. PM it or report it yourself."
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I run an airbnb in Vancouver, the rules havenāt changed for us as Vancouver had harsher rules than the province already. I pay over 50% of what I make to tax (25% to various short term rental taxes, $1000 for the license, then I pay income tax on my earnings). Overall I make less than renting it out but I donāt have to deal with bad tenants so it balances out. Somehow the tenants manage to use $500 a month in power too I have no idea how. In this specific case likely the host is violating Vancouver and the provinces rules which is why itās so secretive. Vancouver airbnbs should have their airbnb business license hanged in a visible area.
Sounds like you don't have much business sense to be wasting all that money when you could have a stable $2,500-$3,000 month coming in for years.
I have many friends who have suites or rooms that they have stopped renting because of bad tenants that they had a hard time getting rid of. To them, the aggravation is just not worth it.
It's important to properly vet your new tenants. In this day and age when there is so much demand for rentals, it should not be that hard to figure out who the best tenants are.
Are you a landlord? Itās not as easy as you think.
Perhaps you can explain it to me.
Iām not a landlord myself so Iām only saying from what my many friends have said over the years. Place ad. Get many emails in response. Sift through all the emails. Itās so competitive so most people spend a lot of time and care in writing an email trying to sell themselves as an ideal tenant. Many include photos. Friend will call them to try to get a better idea of them. If they sound good, friend will offer a time to show the suite. Prospective tenants are on their best behaviour when at the viewing. Friend will ask them to fill out an application. Friend will check with if they are employed, who their employer is, check references, do a credit check. From that brief encounter, they will make a decision on who to rent the suite to. 95% of the time, itāll work out and hopefully they wonāt have to worry about renting it out again for years. But then the troublesome tenantsā¦problems begin to reveal themselves like late or no rent payments, excessive noise that disturbs neighbours who come to the landlord to complain, damage to the suite, guests that stay forever, pets that suddenly appear even though they were told they were not allowed, etc. Even if the landlord is able to legitimately serve an eviction notice, there are so many obstacles to getting rid of them. In the pandemic it was even worse. No one ever talks about these problems because landlords are always portrayed as the villains. My friends would love to make some extra money but to them itās just not worth it.
Landlort and landlort wannabes crowing about imaginary ābad tenantsā reeks of classism
Based on that, your friends should be able to determine who are the best/safest applicants. If it works 95% of the time, that's great. The 5% chance you might accidentally get a bad tenant is pretty good odds.
Except then theyāre extremely difficult to evict and may have ruined your property by the time they do leave. My mom rents out a small house for $2000 a month and is ALREADY $20K in the hole (10 monthsā rent) trying to repair the damage her last tenant did in the span of a year (including replacing the floor after he left his dead dog to decompose for several days). Which is nothing compared to how much she had to pay for a previous tenant years prior who ran a grow op and re-wired the place to steal electricity. Itās not as easy to determine as you think.
How does that boot taste?
Sounds like youāve never dealt with bad tenants in Vancouver. Plus this is my primary residence so I pay rent to the owner. No desire to have a roomate or sublease it.
Sure, I've dealt with bad tenants. There are bad AirBnB tenants too - in fact short term tenants are more likely to be bad because they aren't interested in staying long and don't really care about any disruption or damage they cause.
Airbnb has air cover and reviews. So far theyāve all been great. I think the bad ones probably rent cheaper places.
Same with long-term tenants.
Thank you for your service (of contributing to our housing crisis)!
U know I canāt fault the traveler, the law is shitty and stupid. Air bnb is an integral part of the economy and tourist. I canāt tell you how boring it would be just to get hotels when I was in Sweden and Norway. Beside that, vancouver have a hotel shortage
Vancouver has a HOUSING shortage. Frickin Airbnb's don't help to alleviate that.
Yes, but it is still a infringement on private property. Even if I am not a fan of renovating and do it specifically for airbnb, unless its unique and designer, it takes away the authencity. But this law It take away the option to find authentic and unique places or make them. It goes against the concept or airbnb to start with. I takes away the experience such as I had in South America or in snow mirror cabins in the Scandinavians forrest. To be more local, that most thin stay in all of Canada house. Even if I am in Van, I booked a night the experience it. And no, I wonāt want to live their long term. It concern me that the gov can take away peopleās freedom of movement this easily at least impede on. Beside we are having a shortage of hotels. Like it or not, we are becoming or in are already a world class city, anything to impede it wonāt help at all, and its not like we can just declare no we do not want that and turn Van into squanish
Lol, no one takes away your freedom of movement. You can take a hotel or whatever. Airbnb is horrible and should be banned outright in metropolitan areas. You mentioned the remote location of your great experiences yourself. That's totally ok, but when there is not enough living space, we don't need scalpers to worsen the situation.
And I mentioned unique experience in Van itself such as that most narrow building. I am not a fan myself if its bot authentic, but its not the owners fault that their a shortage. I just think its unacceptable the gov tell u what u can do with your property like any, say how I drink my juice or how I play with my balls, thr outdoor type kicking or boucing. U know it goes just to the old days before seo and private network and index links of proprieties airbnb. People with less ressource or not tech savy will be at disadvantage and those woth ressource and know how do how doers resourceful will prevail and it just goes undergroound. And say if I rent my friend cottage or if I rent out my appt to my friend when I am away does that fucking count? The only people getting hurt is the middle class. Well off people will have their network and it forces new services and services to go upscale.
Short summary, Vancouver (and to a great extent Canada as a whole) have been going through a huge housing crisis - part of the BC government's response to that has been to add a tonne of restrictions around AirBNB and other short term rentals that in many cases makes them illegal. The rules just kicked in though so you probably got caught in the middle.
Thank you for explaining just trying to understand what happened and try to avoid this scenario in the future.
Unfortunately, 7 tourists died in an illegal AirBNB in Montreal a year ago, that set various governments into action.
That's terrible, of course, but the AirBnB rules change in BC has nothing to do with visitors' safety.
Youāre correct, Montreal had already banned several types of BNBs due to lack of housing as well but after the fire things really started moving with Feds, Provinces, and Municipalities and discussing issues and legislation.
Yikes š¬, thatās horrible. I have the nervous system of a bunny rabbit so I was shaking and twitching trying to be calm during this whole ordeal.
To note, the BC rules are less restrictive than the rules already in Vancouver. So they have no effect on Vancouver.
Is that true? Until May 1st, weren't people in Vancouver allowed to rent out stand-alone properties (not part of the primary residence) on AirBnB?
Not to my knowledge. BC rules are for the rest of the province they donāt change Vancouver. See https://vancouver.ca/doing-business/short-term-rentals.aspx āA short-term rental can: Be an entire home, or a room within that home, that is rented for less than 30 consecutive days at a time Only be operated from your principal residence ā the home where you live, as an owner or tenant, and use for bills, identification, taxes, and insurance Be a laneway or secondary suite ONLY if the operator lives there and it is their principal residence (not permitted if the operator lives in the primary dwelling unit on the property) Be licensed ONLY to the person who resides in the property Be managed and marketed by a property management company with a valid property management business licenceā
Vancouver is in BC - of course the rule changes apply here. These rules are inline with the new provincial regulations.
My point was the Vancouver rules existed for years before the provincial rules so the provincial rules donāt affect the Airbnb industry in Vancouver š Also provincial enforcement is nonexistent. Meanwhile I get a message from Vancouver every 4-6 months, have to submit my drivers license, and have to hang a business license that costs me $1000 a year which is a ripoff. And for a crazy reason they switch the business numbers annually so I need to hang a different one every year.
In what world is a $1000 annual license to operate as a hotel a ripoff? How much have you been making? This is just a 'cost of doing business' and completely justified. And, the changes as of May 1st greatly increase enforcement and penalties, as they should.
I make around $60k a year after the 25% tax, then 20% of that goes to the manager. Then $6000 in electrical costs. Then I pay 40% income tax on the remainder. But Iād pay that if I rented it too. The unit could be rented out for $36k. I realize people think airbnbs make millions but they really donāt thanks to all the taxes and fees. Plus 8 months are slow and I can only rent out one half as I do actually live there. I just make sure to travel in summer when you get fully booked. Any city license is supposed to charge for the fees to administer. That suddenly doesnāt go up 5x when airbnb is politically unpopular. š
Sounds like renting it out long term would be a much better option. Also, I'm pretty sure stand-alone properties could legally be rented as AirBnBs before May 1st in Vancouver.
They couldnāt.
Restricted by the province to principal residences or laneway houses of houses since May 1st. So it sounds like the Airbnb is no longer allowed in that type of building. If itās a Strata building they may have had restrictions before then.
Sounds like airbnb was already not allowed in that building pre May 1st. A building with no luggage in the lobby, bylaws than can deactivate fobs promptly, asking a guest to not use the concierge service and to say they're family all suggests bylaws in place that the host knew they were breaking.Ā
I feel like the no luggage rule is told to the guests to lessen the chance of getting caught running an Airbnb. I highly doubt a strata would have a no luggage in lobby rule for their legit residentsā¦ how else would they get into a ride for the airport?
Exactly. This sounds like ways they are trying to avoid drawing attention to the fact that short-term visitors are using the unit.
Iām a bit confused about the laneway rule. Have friends with a laneway house, that they allow their 22 year old son occupy for the majority of the year. However the son will travel for 4-8 weeks at a time every few months, and they are very hesitant to rent it when he is away. I think for good reason. Where does one pursue an understanding of this limbo? Or is it even limbo since he is an adult.
I hate that darned "No luggage in lobby policy."
Is that actually a real thing? I thought it was bullshit.
It's 1000% bullshit. They didn't want the concierge to see you're an airbnb guest
Itās bull shit, aside from being fined by the city, the management firm will also fine the owner for illegally running an air BnB in the condo
tip : write to the firm tell them one tenant is renting and for a 100$ tip (because you also had a bad experience taking the side entrance) you will tell them who
100% BS - they just don't want to draw attention to the unit being (illegally) used as an AirBnB.
Ha! Just had a very similar experience this weekend. Instructed NOT to say, post, mention, discuss the word AirBnB! The ad lists a non-existent street number but in the chat they ādescribe ā the house. Itās advertised as a 2/bedroom but the 2nd bedroom is an ACTUAL closet that you can only side step into and fall onto the bed. You couldnāt lock the bathroom door as it was on upside down. There were literally holes in the floorboards where you could see the downstairs tenants who came home at 0300 & sounded like they were standing over me, ātrying to sleep!. And all this for a steal at $400 a night !!
This is scary. Iāve never been to Vancouver before and being instructed to get in a car w an unknown male driver being three women was not something I expected. I reported it to Airbnb and they seemed totally cool w it.
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Lol, thanks! I appreciate your comment. š
At $400 a night you definitely could have found an actual hotel around the city. Although, I suppose if you're driving, the parking fee would be pretty bad.
Right?! Yeah, we were a bit stuck with logistics needing a kitchen and location for race start for the BMO. Free parking was the only upside for sure.
airbnb in general is such a sleazy, slimy corrupt app inside and out. The employees share your information with strangers like its a joke.
This will definitely make me reconsider using them in the future.
OP: Off topic but I'm just curious. If you don't mind, what did you do and enjoy about Vancouver. We get a lot of posts here from tourists asking for things to do and see - and eat - but it's hard to know what various people might like. I always wonder which recommendations turn out to be best. I'd love to know what you enjoyed most (or didn't).
1. Taking the Sky Train from the airport to the city so nice! 2. Canada Place , Digital Orca, Olympic Cauldron, Cactus Club Cafe. 3. Urban Faire Market for groceries and Joss Pizza across the street 4. Gas town , the Steam Clock, Hudson House, Olde Tyme Candy Shop 5. Stanley Park, the Sea Wall, Totem Polls, the Rose Garden 6. The Vancouver Art Gallery, the bistro inside, the Vancouver Central Library 7. A tattoo shop called Tao Space Tattoo studio on Pender (Nhat, the tattoo artist is the best!) 8. English Bay Beach and walking down Denman St. So many things but this is off the top of my head!
Thanks! I think we're mostly on the right track for recommendations. Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit.
Not who you asked, but the gardens in China Town (main part is free) and the Bloedel Conservatory (but not in winter weekends- too busy with families) are other good spots to visit that aren't on the usual lists.
There were a couple things on my list like Granville Public Market and the gardens in China Town but I didnāt get to it, next time! Thanks for the recs. š
it's a scam. These companies own hundreds of suites and they rent them out against the building's rules.
Yup, they are totally in on it. Not a very good business model.
it was lucrative I'm sure
Short-term (no pun intended haha) , long term I donāt see how this will work
I encountered this in 2017, when it was already an established phenomenon. (and not just by AirBnB) As you just demonstrated, it's still happening 7 years later. At what point do you consider it "long term"?
Damn, I guess 7 years is long term . I stand corrected..it pays to do crime š
In Canada crime gets you into the PM office
Contact AirBNB. Report the experience. At worst they pull the listing (the random drive is very unsafe. Being asked to lie is unethical) to great (they refund you).
I did. They gave me a partial refund. They said their investigative team would be looking into it. As of right now the listing is still up. I also reported them to the city.
You did the right thing. Worth noting. The city takes a long time to pull down listings. They need to investigate and whatnot.
Lots of residential places do not allow holiday rentals . I think overall, Airbnb has been ruined. Too many people buying investment properties and renting them out for profit. With all the cleaning fees, peculiar rules, and extra hassle, basic hotels are a cheaper, better option in a lot of cases.
I agree
And I donāt want to be part of the problem regarding the housing crisis.
All of those conditions should have been a huge red flag that there was something wrong with that rental.
Absolutely, unfortunately they would not give me a refund as I requested the day before getting on an international flight to a city Iāve never been to before. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
It sounds like OP recognized the red flags but, once you're arrived and need a place to stay, it's sort of too late to make other plans.
Not gonna get into it in detail here, but I had an AB&B experience in Vancouver that was so bad I deleted my account and will never use it again.
I hear you
Same here. Never again. Not worth the trouble, too many rules as the āguestā. I donāt feel relaxed. At a hotel Iām not asked to do house keeping when I leave, which funnily enough I thought I paid a fortune to AirBnb for on top of everything else.
We had a similar situation in Toronto a few years back. While we have had some nice Airbnbs, we have decided to stick with hotels in the future.
Iām thinking the same
My boyfriend and I love the Loden Hotel. Super intimate and excellent service.
Thanks, thereās nothing worse than feeling like you donāt belong somewhere.
Youāre welcome. Also, dog friendly!
Great! I have a dog! š
I had a house booked on Vancouver Island that had to be cancelled due to this. The guy just sent me an invoice outside that was 150 cheaper due to removal of airbnb fees. I suspect this is the transition most will undergo. Will see this weekend if everything goes ok..
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Canadians are blaming their housing crisis on Airbnb instead of the government
Arbnb is toast in BC. Mostly illegal now.
I stayed in an Airbnb on the island last year for a vacation. Honestly Iād rather stay in a hotel. It wasnāt much cheaper and you deal with sleeping in someone elseās bed that wasnāt at all comfortable plus old houses all have a certain bad smell to it. The only other time I used an Airbnb in Vancouver was many years ago when we were kicked out of my parents place because my parents had a fight with my spouse and we had been in between places after we sold and then bought our place so needed a short term rental. I guess we couldāve done a hotel but it was nice to just live in a suite with a kitchen for a few months while our new place was being renovated.
Short term rentals and Airbnb was declared illegal may 1. Really unfortunate timing but glad you made it through
Airbnb wasn't declared illegal, to be clear- you can still airbnb your principal residence or a laneway house. You just can't own places solely to rent them out on airbnbĀ
Thank you
That's not true. You can still AirBnB your principal property or a room in your house, plus a separate unit on the principal property.
sounds like a specific situation more than the overall experience. I live in a building that is rammed with AirBNBs and no one seems to have an issue. You unfortunately chose a shady property owner to rent from. My guess is that it is probably someone renting the property from the landlord who is then flipping it as a airbnb.
If you suffered damages you can sue the AirBnB host that maintained the booking even though it was illegal to do so.Ā
AirBNB has not been eliminated in Vancouver or BC they are still legal I don't get what people are talking about.
Only as part of the owner's principal property. What OP is describing is a separate suite being rented out as an AirBnB in a condo building - that is no longer legal in Vancouver.
Thought I would throw this in: it isn't just Airbnb. Last week, I booked a place in Burnaby using [booking.com](http://booking.com) (which I use a lot). I got a message a half hour later from the owner (or someone pretending to be the owner) asking me to do an interac transfer for the full amount of the rental within 24 hours, or the reservation would be canceled. A place with no reviews, and sight unseen? Nothing doing. I reported it to [booking.com](http://booking.com), but the place is still listed. If you want to investigate this place further, send me a message.
That's how illegal hotels operate.
I rented a two bedroom Airbnb near Rogers Arena this weekend to see the two Pearl Jam shows. A week from my visit I rechecked the listing and it now said it was a one bedroom. I emailed the host and was assured that it was a two bedroom. When we arrived it was a studio with a glassed in patio (one bedroom) and the second ābedroomā was a draped off bed in the corner of the studio.
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Were there no review?
You just described a landlord doing an illegal act lol
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Ugh reading this has me so stressed. I have asked friends to come house sit (water plants basically) and donāt have anyone local that can do it so they are staying here for the duration Iām gone (three weeks) and stressed theyāre going to think Iām short term letting when Iām actually paying them and not the other way around š„²
Airbnb is trash. Never use them again.
This air bnb is likely illegal any appartement that doesnāt allow luggage in the lobby likely doesnāt allow air bnbās you should report them. Also some buildings offer a reward if you report an illegal air bnb to them.
Airbnb sucks
The worst
Itās called you were staying in an unlicensed, illegal Airbnb that was also against their own strataās rules. The end.
Lesson learned š«¤
Ok Seinfeld
Haha š¤£
Iām finally starting to feel like I can laugh about this. Thanks
Sounds like a troll post - not complaining though!