A plain-language guide to BC's Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, the provincial registry, and how requirements differ across Vancouver, North Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler. Rules change — this page is a starting point, not legal advice; confirm current requirements for your specific address before you publish a listing.
Issued through BC's provincial short-term rental registry. Major platforms, including Airbnb, now check listings against this registry and remove ones without a valid, matching number. This applies to most listings with availability under 90 consecutive nights, outside a short list of exempt communities.
Issued by the city or district the property sits in — separately from the provincial registration. Each municipality sets its own rules on top of the provincial ones: who can host, how many guests, and how much the licence costs.
We work across all of British Columbia; the four below are the ones we are asked about most. General guidance as of 2026 — always confirm current rules with the municipality directly, since bylaws and allocation limits change.
| Municipality | Principal residence required? | Notable restriction |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | Yes | One short-term rental business licence issued per person — you can't licence a second, non-principal property. |
| District of North Vancouver | Varies | Six-guest occupancy cap on short-term rental listings. |
| Squamish | Varies | Licence cost differs sharply between principal-residence and non-principal-residence listings; non-principal permits have at times been fully allocated, so check current availability before assuming you can get one. |
| Whistler | Exempt from the provincial principal-residence rule | Still requires its own municipal Tourist Accommodation licence to operate legally. |
| Everywhere else in BC | Varies | Most municipalities require their own business licence on top of the provincial registration, and several have their own caps, zoning limits or allocation systems. We work across the province — ask us about your specific address. |
In most cases, yes. A listing with any availability under 90 consecutive nights generally needs both a provincial registration number and a municipal business licence before it can legally be published. Requirements and exemptions vary by municipality, so confirm the specifics for your address.
Increasingly, no. Major booking platforms now validate a listing's provincial registration number against the BC provincial registry, and listings without a valid, matching number are being removed from search or taken down entirely.
Generally no. The City of Vancouver restricts short-term rentals to a host's principal residence, and issues one short-term rental business licence per person.
Whistler has a provincial exemption from the principal-residence requirement that applies elsewhere in BC, but it still requires its own municipal Tourist Accommodation licence to legally operate.
An expired provincial registration or municipal licence typically means the listing has to come down until it's renewed, which stops bookings and revenue immediately. Renewal tracking is one of the easiest things to hand off to a co-host or property manager.
A plain-language checklist for your specific municipality — what you need, roughly what it costs, and where the application actually happens. No charge, nothing to sign.