Can I Airbnb My Condo in Vancouver? The 2026 Rules

Only if the condo is your principal residence. Since May 1, 2024, BC's principal residence requirement has limited short-term rentals (stays under 90 consecutive days) in Vancouver to the host's own home, and the City of Vancouver only licenses short-term rentals in the operator's principal residence. An investment condo can't be listed for nightly stays, but it can still be rented furnished for 90 consecutive days or more, or as a long-term tenancy, subject to your strata's bylaws.

What counts as a short-term rental in BC

Under the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, a short-term rental is accommodation offered to the public, for money, for less than 90 consecutive days. That is the line everywhere in the province. A stay of 89 nights is short-term. A stay of 90 consecutive days or more is not.

Some municipalities use a shorter period in their own bylaws, such as 30 days, but the provincial rules, including registration, still cover any stay under 90 days. In Vancouver, the City licence and the provincial rules both use the 90-day line.

Rule 1: It has to be your principal residence

The Province describes a principal residence as the place where the host usually lives day to day. In practice, that is the home where you live, pay your bills and receive your mail. A condo you own but don't live in, rent to someone else, or bought as an investment does not qualify.

The requirement has applied in Vancouver since May 1, 2024. The Province's community list (published "as of June 1, 2026") still includes Vancouver. That June date is simply when the list was published, not when the rule started.

Within a principal residence, the provincial rules allow you to:

• Rent a room while you live there, or
• Rent the whole home while you're away, and
• Rent one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property, under the provincial baseline.

The provincial requirement is a minimum, and local rules can be stricter. Vancouver's licence is tied to the operator's principal residence, so if you're thinking about a suite or laneway home, confirm eligibility with the City before you list anything.

Rule 2: A City of Vancouver business licence

Every short-term rental in Vancouver needs a City short-term rental business licence. For 2026, the City lists:

• A $1,108 annual licence fee
• A $77 application fee for new licences
• Renewal every year by December 31
• One licence per person
• Strata and/or landlord approval before you apply
• The licence number on every online listing

Rule 3: Provincial registration

Since May 1, 2025, every short-term rental host, platform and strata hotel platform in BC must be registered with the provincial short-term rental registry. Registration is renewed every year. For a host's own home, the Province lists the fee at $100 a year, and $450 a year for a secondary suite or accessory unit where guests have their own private space.

The provincial registration number goes on every listing, next to the City licence number. Platforms are required to check that number against the registry. If a host isn't registered, listings come down, existing bookings are cancelled and new bookings can't be taken.

Compliance with local bylaws is a condition of provincial registration, so the two systems work together. You can't use one to get around the other.

Rule 4: Your strata's bylaws

Even with a City licence and a provincial registration, your building can say no. A BC strata corporation can pass a bylaw, by a 3/4 vote of owners, that limits or bans short-term rentals entirely. A strata's short-term rental bylaw must state its maximum fine, which can be up to $1,000 a day.

That's very different from long-term rentals. Since November 24, 2022, a strata can no longer have a bylaw that bans or restricts residential tenancies. So a building that bans Airbnb still has to allow you to rent to a long-term tenant.

Before you do anything, read your current bylaws and any recent amendments. The City requires strata approval before you apply for a licence anyway.

What about Whistler and other cities?

The principal residence requirement doesn't apply everywhere in BC. Whistler, for example, is exempt, and zoning decides what's allowed there instead. Other Metro Vancouver cities have their own versions of the rules. Richmond and Coquitlam, for instance, only allow short stays in rooms or part of a home the host lives in. See the city-by-city pages for the details where your property is.

What an investment condo can do instead

If your Vancouver condo isn't your principal residence, you have two legal options that don't need a short-term licence.

Furnished stays of 90 consecutive days or more. These mid-term stays sit outside BC's short-term rental rules. They suit insurance displacements, relocations, healthcare stays and film and production crews. Your strata's bylaws still apply, and depending on how the agreement is set up, the stay may count as a tenancy under the Residential Tenancy Act. Our guide to 90-day furnished rentals in Vancouver explains how they work. Condos downtown and near the hospitals in Fairview and Mount Pleasant tend to suit this market.

A long-term tenancy. An unfurnished residential tenancy with one tenant, usually for a year or more. It's the most hands-off option, your strata can't ban it, and the Residential Tenancy Act sets the rules, including the annual rent increase limit. If the home sits empty for part of the year, check the Empty Homes Tax as well.

Not sure which fits? Our comparison of short-term vs mid-term vs long-term rentals in BC walks through the decision by property type and owner situation.

A quick checklist before you list

1. Confirm the home is your principal residence, and that you could show it.
2. Read your strata bylaws and get written approval if needed.
3. Apply for the City of Vancouver short-term rental business licence.
4. Register with the provincial short-term rental registry.
5. Put both numbers on every listing.
6. Diarize the December 31 City renewal and your annual provincial renewal.

Rules change, and every property is different, so confirm your own situation with the City and the Province before you list.

Getting help

Artin Stays runs short stays for principal residences that qualify, and the same team manages 90-day furnished stays and, through Artin Realty, long-term tenancies. We check eligibility and bylaws with you before anything goes live. See how it works on our Vancouver property management page.