The City of West Kelowna could soon be increasing fines for short-term rentals that don乌鸦传媒檛 comply with local bylaws.
Richard and Debby Gill, residents of West Kelowna, brought up the issue at a city council meeting on Tuesday night.
Richard said he found a total of 374 short-term rentals in West Kelowna listed online with verified physical adresses, however 120 were found to be in non-compliance with existing regulations by not listing their rent locations.
READ MORE: Kelowna finally ready to allow short-term rentals
Increasing fines for repeat offenders is one simple solution to cracking down on the problem, Richard notes.
乌鸦传媒淲e want the bylaw updated to include the advertising violation, increase tickets from $500 to a $1000 and apply a $10,000 infraction fee for repeat offenders.乌鸦传媒�
Richard also said that 62 files were opened by the city around short-term rental operators in 2018 乌鸦传媒� particularly around excessive noise, garbage and parking complaints.
Councillor Doug Findlater highlighted that if the regulations change, landlords would just rent out their homes in other ways.
乌鸦传媒淭here are many cities that feel they (short-term rentals) affect the calculation of the vacancy rate. If the houses weren乌鸦传媒檛 listed for short-term rentals, they乌鸦传媒檇 be listed for rentals in another case.乌鸦传媒�
During the debate, Councillor Jayson Filkie took a more positive approach on the issue.
乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 think all short-term rentals are bad. I know that because I乌鸦传媒檝e been to a lot of these places. A lot of people are using the rentals as a revenue stream or for when they乌鸦传媒檙e going away.乌鸦传媒�
At the end of the discussion, councillors agreed to put forth a motion by Rick de Jong to investigate and assemble a report on Airbnb乌鸦传媒檚 operating in West Kelowna over a six-month period by city staff. The report is scheduled to be presented back to council next spring.
