Two full-time staff have been hired by the City of Richmond to tackle illegal short-term rentals.
And it looks like they’ve been busy handing out tickets.
A total of 109 violation tickets related to short-term rentals have been given out since the beginning of the year and 61 of those tickets were issued in February alone.
Since COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted in late 2022, the city has noticed an increase in short-term rental violations, according to the city's latest community safety report.
The report notes there have already been 81 bylaw complaints about short-term rentals in 2023. This compares to only one complaint in 2022 and 12 in 2021.
The new bylaw officers – who have been hired on a temporary basis - will be looking into short-term rental files on both a proactive and complaint basis.
"They are using a variety of investigative techniques to proactively identify illegal short-term rentals including scanning and cross-referencing various online rental platforms as well as other strategies," explained Clay Adams, Richmond city spokesperson.
A quick look at the AirBnB app shows roughly 57 "homes" available for rent in Richmond, but it is unclear whether these units have a city permit to operate.
In order to operate any short-term rental unit of fewer than 30 days in Richmond, owners are required to apply for a bed-and-breakfast or boarding-and-lodging licence (B&L) that costs $154.
However, owners can’t just rent out a property, as there are certain requirements that need to be met, said Adams.
For example, a B&L licence limits the number of guests to a maximum of two, no food preparation amenities are allowed in the unit, and the owner or long-term tenant must be living in another part of the rental home.
As of now, Richmond has issued 33 B&L licences, up by eight from Nov. 22. Another 11 applications are pending at the moment, according to Adams.
