British Columbia will soon introduce an order requiring those who rent properties to limit the number of guests and visitors, in an effort to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry made the announcement during Thursday's press conference, confirming the new order will impact those who rent boats, rooms, houseboats or houses, including AirBnB properties and resorts.
Restrictions will be included as part of rental agreements, and the onus will fall upon the owner or operator of the property to enforce the restrictions.
Support may be provided from bylaw enforcement and public health enforcement, she says.
"We've seen the challenges—that people get together and then they have parties, and they invite people over—so it will be restrictions on the numbers of people, based on the size of the houseboat, or the boat, or the room, but also restrictions on visitors that will be in those rental properties as well."
Dr. Henry says specific details of the new order are still being worked out, including exact numbers of guests and visitors that will be allowed, but she expects details to be made available "within the next day."
In Whistler, Matt Hick, CEO of alluraDirect vacation rentals, says while he doesn't yet know the details of the provincial order, he doesn't expect it will have much of a local impact.
"On the face of this, this may be a non-issue for most rentals when it comes to their visitors and rental properties in Whistler," he said in an email. "The issues coming from Kelowna primarily were from the rental of large houses for group parties—in Whistler, there are not a large number of houses that are zoned for short-term nightly rentals, so in theory, this should be isolated."
Vacation rental properties already have established policies around the maximum number of guests allowed in a unit, he added.
"As long as the government doesn't go extreme with the restrictions and make them unreasonable, properties already have mechanisms in place to remove guests from their properties when there are too many people in their unit," Hick said.
The order, meanwhile, will be applied to all of B.C.
"We know that this is not just an issue in the Okanagan; this is an issue that has affected vacation and rental places across B.C. This will be another step in ensuring that we have those provisions in place that reduce the numbers of people who are gathering and the risk to all of us when this virus is transmitted," she said.
"We've consulted with those who know the industry best to make sure we have reasonable and practical enforceable bylaws, so the details will be coming very soon."
- With files from Alyssa Noel
