90-Day Furnished Rentals in Vancouver: How Mid-Term Works

A mid-term rental is a furnished home rented for 90 consecutive days or more, usually to someone who needs a real place to live for a few months. Because BC defines a short-term rental as a stay of less than 90 consecutive days, these stays sit outside the province's short-term rental rules, so an investment condo in Vancouver can be rented this way without a short-term licence, subject to strata bylaws. Depending on the agreement, a stay this long may also be a tenancy under the Residential Tenancy Act.

Why 90 consecutive days is the line

Under BC's Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, a short-term rental is accommodation offered to the public, for money, for less than 90 consecutive days. Three provincial rules depend on that definition:

• The principal residence requirement, in effect in Vancouver since May 1, 2024, which limits short-term rentals to the host's own home.
• Provincial registration, required of every short-term host since May 1, 2025.
• Platform rules, which require registration numbers on listings.

The City of Vancouver's short-term rental business licence uses the same 90-day line. A stay of 90 consecutive days or more is outside all of them.

The word "consecutive" matters. Two 45-day stays back to back with different guests are two short-term rentals, not one mid-term stay. Every individual stay has to run 90 consecutive days or more.

If your property is outside Vancouver, check the local bylaw too. Some cities, such as West Vancouver, Burnaby and Coquitlam, use 30 days in their own bylaws, but provincial rules still cover any stay under 90 days.

Who rents mid-term homes

Mid-term guests aren't tourists. They need a furnished home with a kitchen, laundry and a proper bed for a few months. The main groups in Vancouver are:

• Insurance displacements. Households whose home is damaged by fire, flood or a building repair, while their insurer covers temporary housing. These happen in every neighbourhood, often for months at a time.
• Relocations. Professionals moving to Vancouver for work, or project teams in the city for a set period, who want somewhere to live while they look for a permanent home.
• Healthcare. Patients and caregivers near VGH, BC Cancer and St. Paul's, and travelling healthcare staff on contract.
• Film and production. Crews working on a production for a season.

Location shapes demand. Downtown condos suit relocations and project teams who want to walk to work. Fairview and Mount Pleasant are close to the hospitals. Quieter areas like Kitsilano suit families on an insurance claim who want to stay near schools and the beach.

Strata bylaws still apply

The provincial short-term rules don't apply to a 90-day stay, but your strata's bylaws do. BC stratas can limit or ban short-term rentals, by a 3/4 vote, with fines up to $1,000 a day. Since November 24, 2022, they can't ban or restrict long-term residential tenancies.

A furnished 90-day stay sits between the two, so read how your strata's bylaws describe short stays and rental periods before you list. If the bylaws are unclear, ask the strata council in writing.

How the Residential Tenancy Act may apply

This is the part owners most often get wrong. The Residential Tenancy Act doesn't apply to "living accommodation occupied as vacation or travel accommodation." But a person who moves into a furnished condo for three months while their house is rebuilt, or while they start a new job, may be living there, not travelling.

Whether the Act applies depends on the facts and the agreement, including:

• Whether the occupant makes the home their residence
• How long they stay and how the agreement is structured
• Whether they're there for travel or to live while something else is sorted out

Two points to keep in mind:

1. You can't contract out of the Act. Calling an agreement a "licence" or "travel accommodation" doesn't decide the question if the arrangement is really a tenancy.
2. If the Act applies, its rules apply in full. That includes the limits on deposits, notice requirements and the rules for ending a tenancy. A fixed-term agreement can only require the tenant to move out at the end of the term in circumstances the regulations allow, so a fixed end date doesn't automatically end a tenancy.

The Province's page on types of rental housing situations is a good starting point, and the Residential Tenancy Branch can answer specific questions. Confirm how each stay is set up before it starts.

Tax rules that look at how you rent

How a stay is structured can also matter for tax.

• BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax. To qualify for the tenancy exemption with an arm's-length tenant, the home must be rented for at least six months of the year, in periods of at least one month, under a written tenancy agreement under the Residential Tenancy Act, and the tenant must make it their home.
• Vancouver Empty Homes Tax. Every owner declares each year, and rental periods are part of how the declaration is answered. See our guide to the Empty Homes Tax for landlords.

What owners need to set up

A mid-term rental takes more preparation than a long-term tenancy, but far fewer turnovers than nightly stays.

1. Check the bylaws. Confirm your strata allows furnished stays of this length.
2. Furnish it properly. Guests need everything for daily life: a well-equipped kitchen, linens, a work space, laundry and reliable internet.
3. Decide how each stay is structured. Use a written agreement that suits the stay, and understand whether the Residential Tenancy Act applies.
4. Check your insurance. Tell your insurer the home is rented furnished, and confirm your policy covers it.
5. Screen every guest. For a stay of this length, that typically means ID, a credit check with consent, income and employment, and a previous landlord or a reference from the employer or insurer arranging the stay.
6. Plan the turnover. Book cleaning, maintenance and an inspection between every stay.
7. Keep good records. Agreements and stay dates support your annual tax declarations.

Owners should confirm their own situation with the Province, the City and their strata, since every property is different.

Comparing your options

If your home is your principal residence, nightly stays may be an option. If it's an investment condo, mid-term and long-term are the two legal paths. Our guides to whether you can Airbnb a condo in Vancouver and short-term vs mid-term vs long-term rentals in BC cover the trade-offs.

Getting help

Artin Properties manages 90-day furnished stays alongside short stays through Artin Stays and long-term tenancies through Artin Realty, our BCFSA-licensed brokerage. We read the bylaws and confirm how each stay is set up before it starts, and our in-house team resets the home between stays. See our Vancouver property management page for how it works.