Vancouver approves $49 annual licence for short term rentals including Airbnb

Vancouver city council has approved new rules that will require a $49 annual licence for anyone who lists their property as a short-term rental on websites such as Airbnb and Expedia.

The regulations also ban hosts from listing units that are not their principal residence and require Airbnb-style platforms to charge a transaction fee.

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The city says about 6,000 short-term rentals are in operation while the vacancy rate for long-term renters is extremely low at less than 1%.

Some Airbnb hosts criticized the rules at a public hearing last month, saying the changes will deprive them of occasional, much-needed income.

Airbnb has maintained it’s open to regulation provided new rules don’t penalize casual users and recognize not every host runs a full-fledged business.

Seattle city council voted last night to impose a levy of $14 per night for short-term rentals of entire homes and $8 per night for rooms, with the taxes to kick in by 2019.

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This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.