The District of Sechelt says so far, they have had a smooth transition in implementing restrictions on homes rented out without a business license.
According to the district, they implemented restrictions last year to limit the number of homes being rented out without a principal resident on site, which was done prior to the province’s announcement.
The district says since Sechelt has a population of over 10,000 people, anyone who wishes to have short-term rentals must comply with a business license and if they don’t adhere to the policy they could face significant fines.
“The first and second fines for operating without a business license, and for advertising without a license, are $500 each,” they say. “If an operator continues to be non-compliant and a third fine goes out, they could be fined $1,000.”
They add so far, they have 200 short-term rentals in the area with 101 of them operating without a license.
Additional consequences could be imposed by the province, but the district says so far, they haven’t had to impose any of them.
