INFORMATION RELEASE

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) Board of Directors has supported an administrative recommendation to submit a request to the Minister of Housing regarding short-term rentals. On Thursday, March 21, 2024, the RDOS Board voted to request the three electoral areas listed below, “opt-in” to the “Principal Residence Requirement” under the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act. This would allow the Regional District to benefit from additional provincial enforcement resources when an operator contravenes applicable provincial regulations.

Electoral Areas opting-in to the “Principal Residence Requirement”:

• Electoral Area “D” (Skaha East, Okanagan Falls)
• Electoral Area “F” (Greater West Bench, Rural Summerland, Okanagan Lake West)
• Electoral Area “I” (Skaha West, Kaleden)

The province's “Principal Residence Requirement” is intended to function as a minimum requirement or a “floor”, meaning local governments may choose to have more restrictive short-term rental bylaws depending on local needs. The “Principal Residence Requirement” automatically applies to all municipalities with a population of 10,000 or more and will go into effect on May 1, 2024.

For regional district electoral areas, the province is providing an “opt-in” process. The province will provide an annual deadline of March 31 for a local government to make changes to their “Principal Residence Requirement” status, effective November 1 of that same year. Once an electoral area has “opted-in” to the “Principal Residence Requirement”, this status will remain until the regional district submits a formal resolution requesting to “opt out” of the “Principal Residence Requirement”.

Of note, ski resorts in rural areas and BC Parks resorts are exempt from the “Principal Residence Requirement”, even if the electoral area within which they are situated elects to “opt-in”. Within the Regional District, this would apply to Apex Mountain Resort and Manning Park. In addition, property that has been assessed as “farm” (Class 9) by BC Assessment is exempt from the “Principal Residence Requirement”, regardless of whether the land is designated as Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

The RDOS will continue to explore how permitting options and the introduction of business licences will be incorporated into the short-term rental process within electoral areas.

For further information, please visit the RDOS website to view the administrative report.

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Mark Pendergraft, Chair
Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen 

Contact:

RDOS Communications
250-490-4148
Toll-Free 1-877-610-3737