Short-Term vs Mid-Term vs Long-Term Rental in BC

The right rental length in BC depends mostly on one question: is the property your principal residence? If it is, short-term stays under 90 consecutive days may be an option where you live. If it isn't, most of Metro Vancouver limits you to stays of 90 consecutive days or more, including furnished mid-term rentals and long-term tenancies, and your strata's bylaws narrow it further.

The three rental lengths, defined

Short-term: under 90 consecutive days. Nightly and weekly stays booked through Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com. Under the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, any stay under 90 consecutive days is a short-term rental, and since May 1, 2025 every host must be registered with the provincial registry.

Mid-term: 90 consecutive days or more, furnished. Stays of three months or longer for people who need a real home for a while: insurance displacements, relocations, healthcare stays and film crews. These sit outside BC's short-term rental rules. The Residential Tenancy Act may apply depending on the facts of the occupancy; the rental's label and agreed length do not decide that question on their own.

Long-term: a residential tenancy. Usually unfurnished and often a year or more, with one tenant. The Residential Tenancy Act governs it in full, from deposits and rent increases to how the tenancy ends.

Step 1: Is it your principal residence?

Since May 1, 2024, BC's principal residence requirement has limited short-term rentals to the host's own home, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property, in the communities where it applies. That includes Vancouver and most of Metro Vancouver. Local rules can be stricter than the provincial baseline.

• Yes, I live there. Short-term stays may be possible while you're away, or in a room, with the local licence and provincial registration. Mid-term and long-term are also open to you.
• No, it's an investment property. In communities under the requirement, short-term stays are off the table. Mid-term and long-term are your options.

The rules differ by city, so check where your property is:

• Vancouver, Burnaby, North Vancouver, West Vancouver and Squamish limit short stays to a principal residence, with a local licence.
• Richmond and Coquitlam only allow short stays in rooms or part of a home the host lives in, not a whole home.
• Whistler is exempt from the principal residence requirement. Zoning decides what's allowed instead.

Some cities, including West Vancouver, Burnaby and Coquitlam, use 30 days in their own bylaws, but the provincial rules still cover any stay under 90 days. Our city pages explain each one.

Step 2: What do your strata bylaws allow?

If your property is in a strata, the bylaws can rule out short stays even where the City allows them. A BC strata can limit or ban short-term rentals by a 3/4 vote, with fines up to $1,000 a day. Since November 24, 2022, a strata can't ban or restrict long-term residential tenancies.

So the order of what a strata can restrict runs from short-term (most likely to be limited) to long-term (protected). Read your bylaws before choosing anything shorter than a standard tenancy.

Step 3: Match the rental to the property

Location shapes mid-term demand in Vancouver: downtown for relocations and project teams, Fairview and Mount Pleasant for healthcare stays, and family neighbourhoods like Kitsilano for insurance displacements.

Step 4: Match the rental to your situation

You want the least involvement. Choose long-term. One screened tenant, one lease, monthly rent. Tenant screening covers a credit check with consent, ID, income and employment, and a previous landlord. The trade-off is flexibility: the Residential Tenancy Act controls when and how a tenancy can end, and the annual rent increase limit caps increases.

You want to keep the home furnished or use it yourself sometimes. Mid-term may fit a furnished home. Before planning your return, confirm whether the Residential Tenancy Act applies and how the tenancy can lawfully end. A fixed term alone does not guarantee the home will be available for your own use on that date. Account for furnishing, turnover costs and the applicable tenancy rules. Our guide to 90-day furnished rentals covers the set-up.

You live there but travel often. Short-term may fit, if your strata allows it and you hold the local licence and provincial registration. It's the most hands-on option, with frequent guest turnover, cleaning and messaging. See whether you can Airbnb your condo in Vancouver for the full checklist.

You're unsure how long you'll keep the property. A mid-term agreement does not guarantee you can recover the home on its end date. Where the Residential Tenancy Act applies, a fixed term generally continues month to month unless a permitted exception applies. Plan any return, sale or change of rental type around the rules for lawfully ending the tenancy.

Other rules that apply whichever you choose

• Empty Homes Tax (Vancouver). Every owner declares each year, and a home declared or deemed empty is taxed. See our guide to the Empty Homes Tax for landlords.
• Speculation and Vacancy Tax. A provincial tax with its own exemptions, separate from the City tax.
• Who manages it. In BC, rental property management for others is a licensed activity. Our guide on whether BC property managers need a licence explains what that means for owners.

Rules change and every property is different, so confirm your own situation with your city, the Province and your strata before you decide.

Getting help

Artin Properties runs all three rental lengths, so your home can move to a different rental length without changing managers when the applicable tenancy, licensing and bylaw requirements allow. Short stays run through Artin Stays, and long-term tenancies through Artin Realty, our BCFSA-licensed brokerage. Find your city on our property management page, or add your property and we'll check what your address and bylaws allow.