When we wrote in this space a few weeks back about the incredible highs and disastrous lows of Whistler’s rental market, we heard a wide range of responses from the community.
As one might predict, the responses ran the gamut from good, to bad, to ugly.
Though housing has been a talking point at Whistler’s municipal hall for 25 years, the problem has gotten steadily worse, wrote one reader.
“The only conclusion possible is the municipal government is simply incapable of fixing it. There is no other conclusion. They are on the wrong track. Unless the muni does something different than they are doing it will not change,” they wrote.
“Is anyone asking why all the government initiatives for the past quarter century have failed, i.e., led us to where we are? It is a 100-per-cent, government-created problem. Perhaps you could ask your readers why they think the muni and all levels of
government are so ineffective on housing. That would be entertaining.”
Well, what do you think? Why is government so ineffective on housing? We await your letters to the editor.
Another reader pointed out the piece, perhaps unfairly, essentially boiled down the rental problem to homeowners being unwilling to rent out their homes.
“As a new homeowner, let me tell you that it was damn challenging to have the municipality approve our house permit with additional rental space. After three years of building, we are now sitting on an $8,000 mortgage,” they wrote.
“Now we need to ask a painful amount of rent just to break even, and I hate being that person. It is very tempting to gtfo and sell, and I see why spec homes are ever so popular these days. From where I’m standing, the situation sucks on both ends. Please don’t blame one party, the grass is not greener on this side.”
Touché, fair reader, and our intention was never to oversimplify such a complex issue.
And of course, more than one reader pointed out that short-term rentals are still wreaking havoc in Whistler and beyond.
“It’s about short-term rentals: Airbnb, VRBO, etc., that were previously available for long-term rentals, and now the owners can make as much money with one Airbnb weekend as they previously made in a month with a long-term tenant,” one reader wrote.
“Until short-term rentals can be more highly regulated, eliminated, taxed, and enforced, this will continue. Landlords, understandably, prefer the money and the flexibility that they would not have with a long-term tenant. Imagine that: you can make as much money with a few weeks or weekends of Airbnb, and then have space for your out-of-town family and friends the rest of the time.”
You have to admit—that does sound appealing!
But as one of countless employers in this town struggling to attract and retain good staff because there is simply nowhere to live, it is frustrating to see individual greed win out.
It is even more frustrating to open the maps on sites like Airbnb and VRBO and see, clear as day, short-term listings in Whistler’s residential neighbourhoods.
In Whistler, tourist accommodation providers are required to have the appropriate zoning and a business licence.
But according to the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW), there are properties throughout the resort that have tourist accommodation as a permitted use, including in some residential neighbourhoods. (If you suspect an online listing is illegal, you can verify its zoning using the RMOW’s handy GIS tool at webmap.whistler.ca. You can report suspected illegal listings at whistler.ca/bylaw.)
There are also so-called inactive “ghost listings,” in which a new owner has purchased a home, but is unable to get the previous owner’s short-term listing removed.
RMOW bylaw investigates filed complaints, in addition to actively monitoring short-term vacation rental booking sites, a communications official said. RMOW bylaw can issue fines up to $500.
Since Jan. 1, the RMOW has opened 40 files for illegal rentals—twenty-six are resolved (most of which resulted in a fine), while 14 are actively being investigated.
“As well, it should be noted, our track record is quite strong when we do issue a fine,” the official said. “We do occasionally have people try to dispute their fines, but the case history is strongly weighted in our favour. Since September 2021, 15 notices have been disputed in adjudication and 14 upheld.”
So local officials are doing their best to stay on top of the problem. But how do they feel about those who so blatantly skirt the (very clear) rules?
“We do recognize that the income from [nightly rentals] can be good initially, but it doesn’t pay off for the community as a whole. Illegal nightly rentals affect the livability of a neighbourhood, displace our local workforce and will result in a fine for non-compliance,” the communications official said, adding that it’s important to do your due diligence before you list your property to ensure you’re permitted to do so.
As booking sites provide limited data to municipal governments, it is difficult to quantify their impacts in Whistler beyond hearsay, the official said, adding that a resolution coming to this month’s Union of BC Municipalities Convention aims to rectify the data issue.
Thanks to efforts at municipal hall over the years, illegal nightly rentals are not nearly as big of a problem in Whistler as they might have otherwise been—though they clearly still deserve our attention and vigilance. Greed is not going anywhere.
On a related note, if you’re a homeowner who would rather help their community than profit handsomely from it, and interested in housing a Pique reporter (or two), please get in touch.
In the meantime, I’ll be over here reporting every definitely-illegal short-term rental listing I can find to bylaw.
