Short-term rentals in a Metro Vancouver multiplex: which units the BC rules allow
B.C. limits short-term rentals to the home the host lives in plus one secondary unit. In a four-unit multiplex, that leaves at least two units that can only be rented long-term or sold, and none at all if the owner lives elsewhere.
In short, Since May 1, 2024, B.C.'s principal residence requirement has limited short-term rentals (stays of less than 90 consecutive days) in communities of 10,000 people or more to the host's principal residence plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property. Every large Metro Vancouver municipality, including Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, New Westminster and Surrey, is covered. For a multiplex this means an owner who does not live on the property cannot offer any unit for short stays, and an owner who does live there can offer at most their own unit and one other. Hosts must also register with the provincial registry, and strata corporations may limit or ban short-term rentals by a 3/4 vote.
Landowners planning a fourplex often ask us whether the extra units could run as short-term rentals. The idea is easy to understand. Nightly rates look high next to a monthly lease, and a new unit in Kitsilano or Mount Pleasant would photograph well.
The answer in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam and every other large city in the region now comes from provincial law. For most multiplex plans it rules short stays out for all but one or two units, and for owners who live somewhere else it rules them out entirely.
What the provincial rule allows
Since May 1, 2024, B.C.'s principal residence requirement has applied in communities with a population of 10,000 or more. In those places, short-term rentals are limited to the home where the host lives day to day, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property. That is the full allowance.
The province's list of covered communities includes every Metro Vancouver municipality we work in: Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Surrey, the City and District of North Vancouver, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Delta, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and both the City and Township of Langley.
A short-term rental, under the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, is accommodation offered to the public for money for less than 90 consecutive days. A lease of 90 days or longer falls outside that definition.
The allowance follows the host. If you do not live on the property, none of its units can be offered for short stays in these cities.
Going through a fourplex unit by unit
Take a common plan: a landowner in Renfrew-Collingwood replaces the family house with four strata units under Vancouver's multiplex rules, keeps one unit to live in, and holds the other three.
The owner's own unit is their principal residence. They can offer it for short stays, for example while they travel. One more unit on the property can be offered as their one secondary unit. The province defines a secondary unit as any accommodation separate from the home where the host lives, sleeps and eats, even if it sits on the same property or is joined by an interior door.
The third and fourth units cannot be short-term rentals at all. They can be rented on leases of 90 days or more, sold, or lived in by family.
Now change one fact. The owner moves to a house in North Vancouver and keeps all four units as an investment. None of the four can be offered for short stays, because none is the host's principal residence.
One point the province's pages do not settle is how the words "on the same property" apply when every unit is its own strata lot on its own title. If your plan depends on a neighbouring strata lot counting as your one secondary unit, put that exact question to the provincial registry or a lawyer before you rely on it.
Registration and the city business licence
Even the allowed units need paperwork. Hosts must register each short-term rental with the provincial registry, giving the property address, the parcel identifier (the PID on the land title), the number of bedrooms and the type of ownership, along with their own contact details.
The registration number has to appear on every listing. Where the city requires a business licence, the host uploads a copy during registration and shows the licence number on the listing as well. Bookings of more than 90 days do not need to be registered.
The provincial rule is also a minimum. The province says so directly: local governments may adopt more restrictive short-term rental bylaws, and some already have their own principal residence rules. Read your city's bylaw as well as the provincial one.
If your multiplex is a strata
Most multiplexes we build in Vancouver and Burnaby are sold or held as strata lots, so strata law matters here too.
Since November 24, 2022, strata corporations in B.C. cannot restrict long-term rentals. Any bylaw that did so became invalid on that date. Short-term rentals are treated differently. A strata can pass a bylaw by a 3/4 vote of owners to limit or ban them, and can set fines of up to $1,000 a day for owners or residents who break it.
In a 200-unit tower, that vote involves up to 200 owners. In a four-unit multiplex it involves the few people who share your walls, your stairs and your parking area, and who will meet your guests at the door. We cover how those small stratas make decisions in how a small multiplex strata is governed.
Why we leave short-stay income out of the numbers
When we test a lot, we model the finished units two ways: sold as strata homes, or held and rented on ordinary long-term leases. Short-stay income never goes into the base case.
Our reasons are practical. The provincial rule already caps short stays at two units at most, and only for an owner who lives on site. The city can tighten its bylaw. The strata can vote a ban. An income line that three separate bodies can remove is a poor foundation for a construction budget.
If a project only works with short-stay income, it depends on a risk the owner does not control. If you want to see how the base case is built, reading a multiplex pro forma goes line by line, and build-to-rent multiplexes in Vancouver covers the long-term rental path in detail.
Where short stays can still fit
An owner-occupied multiplex still has some room for short stays.
- An owner who lives in one unit can offer that unit for short stays while away, subject to registration and any city licence.
- The same owner can use one other unit on the property for short stays, if the city bylaw and any strata bylaw allow it.
- A furnished lease of 90 days or more sits outside the short-term rental definition. Check which tenancy rules apply to it before you sign one.
- Family members can live in the other units. Many of the multiplexes we plan now are built for exactly that, as we describe in multigenerational living in a Metro Vancouver multiplex.
What it means for unit mix and tenure
The rule feeds into two early decisions. The first is unit mix. If the owner will live on site and wants to host now and then, decide early which unit they will keep and which single unit could be offered for short stays. Every other unit should be designed for a long-term household: in-suite laundry, real storage, and a layout that works for people who stay for years.
The second is tenure. Units held under one title as a rental building stay under one owner's control, and there is no strata to vote on a short-term rental bylaw. Units split into strata lots can be sold one at a time, and every sale adds an owner with a vote. We compare the two paths in strata or rental: choosing the tenure for your multiplex.
Questions to settle before design starts
If short-term rental is part of your thinking, answer these before an architect draws anything, because the answers can change the unit mix and the tenure.
- Will you live on the property as your principal residence once it is built?
- Does your city have its own short-term rental bylaw that is stricter than the provincial rule?
- Will the units be strata lots? If so, how will you handle a future short-term rental bylaw vote?
- Does the project still work if every unit other than yours is rented long-term or sold?
Frequently asked
Can I rent out the units in my Vancouver multiplex on Airbnb?
Only in a narrow case. B.C.'s principal residence requirement limits short-term rentals in Vancouver and other communities of 10,000 people or more to the home the host lives in plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property. The remaining units can be rented on leases of 90 days or more, sold, or used by family.
What counts as a short-term rental in BC?
The Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act defines it as accommodation provided to members of the public in a host's property, in exchange for money, for less than 90 consecutive days. A booking of 90 days or more falls outside the definition and does not need to be registered with the provincial registry.
If I do not live in my multiplex, can any unit be a short-term rental?
Not in the Metro Vancouver municipalities covered by the requirement, which includes Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, New Westminster, and Surrey. The allowance is tied to the host's principal residence, so an owner who lives elsewhere has no unit on that property that qualifies for short-term rental at all. The units can still be rented on leases of 90 days or more.
Can my strata ban short-term rentals in a small multiplex?
Yes. B.C. removed strata bylaws that restrict long-term rentals as of November 24, 2022, but a strata corporation can still pass a bylaw by a 3/4 vote to limit or ban short-term rentals, and can fine owners up to $1,000 a day for breaking it. In a four-unit strata, that vote is held among the few owners who share the building.
Do I need a business licence for a short-term rental in Burnaby or Vancouver?
Where the local government requires one, yes. The province requires hosts to upload a copy of a valid business licence when registering, and to show both the provincial registration number and the licence number on every listing. Check the city's own bylaw, because the provincial rule is the minimum and cities may set stricter ones.
Should I count short-term rental income when deciding whether to build?
We advise against it. The provincial rule caps short stays at two units at most, the city can tighten its bylaw, and a strata can vote to ban them. We plan multiplex numbers on long-term rent or sale, and treat any short-stay income on the owner's own unit as extra income the project can do without.
Does the principal residence requirement apply to small towns in the Fraser Valley?
Only where the population is 10,000 or more. The province's list of covered communities includes the larger Fraser Valley municipalities, but a smaller community below that threshold is not automatically covered, and some communities have opted in regardless of size. Check the province's current list for your specific municipality before assuming either way.
Can I offer my secondary unit as a short-term rental if a family member lives in it?
No. The secondary unit allowance is tied to it being offered as a short-term rental alongside the host's own principal residence, not to a family member's separate household. If a relative lives in that unit as their home, it is not available as your one permitted secondary short-term rental at the same time.
If the answer to the last question is no, the plan needs to change before the design does. If you own a lot in Vancouver or elsewhere in Metro Vancouver and want the base-case numbers worked out on long-term rent and sale, book a free consultation.
Written by
Acquisitions and Development
Trent Praski leads investment and development at Venture Pacific, sourcing missing-middle opportunities across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley and structuring transparent homeowner and investor partnerships.
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