Kelowna did its part and now the Government of BC has given the green light for the city to opt out of BC’s short-term rental regulations earlier than expected.
After hitting its target rental vacancy in 2025, Kelowna was originally able to submit an opt-out request by March 31 to have the changes take effect on Nov. 1.
However, local officials like Mayor Tom Dyas and Kelowna-Mission MLA Gavin Dew lobbied hard to accelerate that timeline to accommodate the busy summer tourist season.
According to the Province, Kelowna was the only municipality to make such a request and it was officially granted today, meaning the short-term rental restrictions will be scrapped on June 1.
Dew called it a “welcome but overdue decision,” noting that he’s proud of everyone who worked hard to make it happen.
“The City of Kelowna deserves credit for its patience and professionalism: both in delivering on housing supply and in developing evidence-based short-term rental policies that reflect local needs,” Dew acknowledged through a statement provided by the BC Conservatives.
“It is unfortunate that the provincial government took this long to acknowledge that a local solution was both available and appropriate.”
The provincial rules stated that municipalities must achieve a rental vacancy rate of at least 3% for two consecutive years to opt out of the principal residence requirement for short-term rentals.
Kelowna’s rental vacancy skyrocketed in back-to-back years, first to 3.8% in 2024 before nearly doubling to 6.9% by the end of 2025.
Dyas said Kelowna has been a leader in delivering housing and that progress was reflected in the city’s vacancy rate.
“That leadership has allowed us to work collaboratively with the Province on a solution that reflects our community’s needs,” he explained.
“With a number of major events ahead this summer, Kelowna is ready to welcome visitors and support our local economy, while maintaining a balanced approach that respects our neighbourhoods and protects housing supply.”
One major event that this expedited timeline won’t help with is the Memorial Cup, which is scheduled for the final 10 days of May.
However, it will surely help matters when it comes to Touchdown Kelowna in late June and early July, the BC Summer Games in July and even annual events like Rock The Lake.
“These changes support communities to make decisions that best meet their housing needs for residents, including those who work in the tourism sector, while also supporting the visitor economy,” noted BC’s Tourism Minister Anne Kang.
“This is key to sustainable tourism growth that supports local businesses and contributes to a thriving provincial economy.”
Kang added that short-term rentals are “an important part of the tourism sector in many parts of BC.”
Starting June 1, short-term rental hosts in Kelowna will no longer need to follow the principal residence requirement when they apply for provincial short-term rental registration.
However, the City intends to limit the operation of primary-use short-term rentals to buildings in tourism-zoned areas, which means hosts will still need to upload a local business licence at the time of application.
A report to council last month indicated that 16 Kelowna properties with over 2,000 total units had already gotten a head-start on the process to get back in the short-term rental market.
