BC's Short-Term Rental Rules: The Principal Residence Requirement Explained

In most B.C. cities with 10,000 or more people, and in many nearby communities, a short-term rental is legal only in the host's principal residence plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property. That is the provincial principal residence requirement under the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act.

As of June 1, 2026, the rule applies in the City of Langley, the Township of Langley, Surrey, White Rock, Delta, Maple Ridge, and Abbotsford. A vacant condo, a second house, or an investment suite across town does not qualify.

According to the Province of British Columbia, the requirement "limits short-term rentals to the host's principal residence, the usual place where they make their home, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property." Local bylaws can be tighter than that floor. Price nightly income into a home search only after both layers check out.

What the principal residence requirement actually allows

A short-term rental in B.C. is accommodation offered to the public for money for fewer than 90 consecutive days. The Act covers Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, Craigslist, and newspaper classifieds. Hotels, motels, hostels, resorts, RVs, tents, and bookings of 90 days or longer sit outside the Act.

Where the principal residence requirement applies, the property host may offer short-term stays in one or both of these places:

•       The home they actually live in as their day-to-day residence.

•       Not more than one secondary suite or other accessory dwelling unit on the same parcel.

That second unit can be a basement suite, coach house, garden suite, laneway home, or cottage. It cannot be a second condo in another building. The Regulation is explicit: the accessory unit must sit on the same parcel as the host's principal residence.

You can rent a bedroom while you live in the house. You can rent the whole house while you travel. You cannot list both the basement suite and the laneway home at the same time.

How the Province draws the line between the main home and a second unit

The unit the host lives in is the principal residence. Guests in that unit share the host's space: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room.

Any accommodation that is separate from where the host lives, sleeps, and eats is a secondary unit, even if it sits on the same lot or connects through an interior door that stays locked. Guests in that unit have their own private space and do not use the host's kitchen or bathroom.

Where the rule applies in 2026

The principal residence requirement applies in municipalities with a population of 10,000 or more and in smaller neighbouring communities, generally those within about 15 kilometres of a covered city. Communities can also opt in. The official list is updated as of June 1, 2026.

Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver communities on that included list include Abbotsford, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, Langley (City), Langley (Township), Maple Ridge, Mission, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, and White Rock.

The Province publishes an interactive principal residence location map. Enter the civic address before you underwrite nightly income. The map and the annual list change when a local government opts in or out.

What is not a principal residence

A host can have only one principal residence at a time. The following do not qualify in a covered community:

•       A vacation home or cabin you use part of the year.

•       A second house or condo held as an investment.

•       A unit owned by a corporation that nobody lives in as their home.

•       A suite on a different parcel from the house you occupy.

•       A property you used to list under a legal non-conforming use. Those protections no longer apply to short-term rentals.

The Province walked back non-conforming-use protection for short-term rentals when the Act came in. A listing that predated a local ban does not get a grandfather pass under provincial law.

How the official examples work

The provincial host-registration page uses worked examples. They are the cleanest way to test a purchase before you write an offer.

Langley and Surrey: the local overlay

The provincial rule is the floor, not the ceiling. The Province states that local governments may set more restrictive short-term rental bylaws, and hosts must follow both.

Surrey

Surrey is on the provincial included list and adds its own bylaw. The City's short-term rental page states that short-term rentals cannot be operated by tenants. Permitted housing types are a single-family dwelling plus up to one secondary suite, coach house, or garden suite; a townhouse unit; or an apartment unit with one lock-off suite.

An owner must hold a Surrey short-term rental business licence before operating. The published annual fee is $358, plus any application fees. The City may require a building inspection as part of licensing. Hosts must keep guest records for two years, allow only one booking at a time, and produce proof of principal residence on demand.

A legal Surrey secondary suite or coach house can support long-term rent or, if you live on the lot and hold the licences, one short-term listing. It cannot support a second investment listing somewhere else in the city.

City of Langley and Township of Langley

Both municipalities appear on the Province's June 1, 2026 included list. Nightly rentals are limited to the host's principal residence plus one suite or accessory dwelling on the same parcel.

Neither hall has published a Surrey-style standalone STR code that replaces the provincial cap. Both still require a business licence for businesses operating in their boundaries, including many home-based operations. Confirm the current licence category and fee at City Hall or the Township before you list. Provincial registration still applies even if a local licence is only triggered at a shorter stay length, such as 28 or 30 days.

If the plan is long-term suite rent instead of Airbnb, the permit path is different. Start with the suite rules for the Langley address and treat nightly income as a bonus only after the provincial map and the local licence desk agree.

Exemptions that actually exist

Some land, some buildings, and some communities sit outside the principal residence requirement. An exemption from the PRR is not an exemption from every other rule. Local zoning, business licences, and strata bylaws can still shut a listing down.

Communities and resort land

Municipalities under 10,000 people that are not within 15 kilometres of a covered city are generally exempt. So are most regional district electoral areas, most Islands Trust areas except Salt Spring Island and Gabriola Island, Resort Municipality Initiative communities, and designated mountain, ski, and B.C. Parks resort areas. Whistler, Sun Peaks, and many ski hills sit on that exempt-land schedule.

Tofino requested an opt-out and is on the exempt-community list. Creston, Salt Spring Island, and Columbia-Shuswap Electoral Area B requested an opt-in and are covered.

Kelowna's 2026 opt-out

A covered municipality can ask to leave the principal residence requirement if it posts an eligible rental vacancy rate of at least 3 percent for two consecutive years. CMHC vacancy data now lands in December, so the Province moved the request deadline to February 28 (February 29 in a leap year) starting in 2027, with opt-outs taking effect on June 1.

Kelowna was the first city to use that vacancy test. CMHC recorded Kelowna's vacancy rate at about 3.8 percent in 2024 and 6.4 percent in 2025. A one-time regulation put Kelowna's opt-out in force on June 1, 2026. The city still intends to confine primary-use short-term rentals to tourism-zoned buildings. That change does not move Langley or Surrey off the included list.

Property and operator exemptions

The Regulation also carves out specific property types from the principal residence requirement, or from both registration and the PRR:

•       Farm land assessed as Class 9 under the Assessment Act. An Agricultural Land Reserve label by itself is not enough.

•       Certain strata-titled hotels and qualifying strata-hotel platforms.

•       Fractional ownership properties that cannot be used as a principal residence.

•       Time shares, home exchanges, student or employee housing, outdoor recreation lodges, and strata corporation guest suites.

•       Seasonal accommodation that is not equipped or suitable for year-round living, such as a bunkhouse cabin or an off-grid hunting hut. An insulated, heated, plumbed lake house does not qualify.

•       First Nation Reserve lands, and Nisga'a or treaty First Nation lands unless a coordination agreement brings the Act in.

Bed and breakfasts are not exempt. The Province states that the principal residence requirement applies to B&Bs. A B&B can keep operating if the owner lives on the property.

Registration, proof, and what it costs

As of May 1, 2025, hosts, platforms, and strata-hotel platforms operating in B.C. must register with the provincial short-term rental registry. Platforms must validate registration numbers and can be told to take a listing down if the local business licence is missing.

For 2026 registrations, only one registration is required per short-term rental unit. Switching from a bedroom listing to a whole-home listing on the same registered unit does not need a new file. A new application is required if the legal name, business name, or address changes, or if the unit stops being the host's principal residence.

Annual provincial fees

Fees are not refunded if the application is denied. Registrations renew every year. The window opens 40 days before expiry, with reminder emails at 40 days, 14 days, and 1 day.

Proof of principal residence

In a covered community the host must file a principal residence declaration. The Regulation and the registry page limit that package to one accepted identity document plus at least two supporting documents. Names and addresses must match the host and the listing.

Accepted identity documents include a B.C. driver's licence, a B.C. identification card, or a photo or non-photo BC Services Card.

Supporting documents can include a land title search, the current-year BC Assessment notice, an ICBC vehicle insurance certificate, a home insurance summary, a property tax notice, a Speculation and Vacancy Tax confirmation letter, a Home Owner Grant confirmation, an affidavit, a bank statement or void cheque, or another official government notice. A tenant can use a rental agreement or a rent-increase notice dated within the last year as one of those two supporting documents, unless a local bylaw bars tenant hosts.

Listings must show the provincial registration number, the local business licence number where one is required, and the exact address tied to the registration.

Penalties if you ignore the rule

The Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs runs a Compliance and Enforcement Unit that can educate, investigate, issue compliance orders, levy administrative monetary penalties, seek injunctions, and publish decisions.

Schedule 4 of the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Regulation sets rising maximums. A contravention of the principal residence requirement can draw up to $5,000 on a first offence, $7,500 on a second, and $10,000 on a third or later offence. Failing to register a listing carries the same three-step scale. Leaving the registration number off a listing can draw $500, $750, or $1,000. Platforms face higher caps, including up to $10,000 per day in some platform-registration cases.

Local governments also gained stronger tickets. The maximum municipal ticket rose from $1,000 to $3,000 per infraction, per day. Regional district prosecution fines under the Offence Act rose from $2,000 to $50,000.

Guests are not fined for staying in a non-compliant listing. The host and the platform carry the liability. Platforms must remove unregistered listings and cancel those bookings.

What this means if you are buying in Langley or Surrey

Do not underwrite a Fraser Valley purchase on Airbnb income from a unit you will not live in. In Langley City, the Township, and Surrey, that income is not legal under the provincial principal residence requirement.

A better underwriting path for most first-time buyers is long-term suite rent in a legal secondary suite or coach house, plus the option to list one of those units short-term only if you live on the same lot and hold both the provincial registration and the local licence.

Run this checklist before the subject-removal date:

•       Confirm the address on the Province's principal residence map, not on an old blog post.

•       Read the local business-licence page. Surrey's tenant ban and $358 licence are easy to miss if you only read the provincial Act.

•       Read the strata bylaws. A strata can ban short-term rentals even when the Province would allow them in the host's own unit.

•       Do not treat a legal non-conforming listing history as transferable. That protection no longer applies to short-term rentals.

•       If the income case is long-term rent, confirm the suite or coach house is permitted, inspected, and financeable.

•       Ask how the lender and insurer treat short-term income. Many will not count it the same way they count a registered long-term lease.

Mortgage room still turns on the stress test and your down payment, not on a peak-season nightly rate. Review the financing path separately from any short-term rental file.

If you want a second set of eyes on an address in Willoughby, Brookswood, Clayton, or South Surrey before you write the offer, book a consult.

FAQ

Can I Airbnb a second home or investment condo in Langley or Surrey?

No. As of June 1, 2026, the City of Langley, the Township of Langley, and Surrey are all on the provincial included list. You may list the home you live in, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same parcel. A vacant condo across town does not qualify.

What counts as a principal residence under B.C. short-term rental rules?

The Province defines it as the usual place where the host makes their home. You get one principal residence at a time. To register in a covered community you file one accepted B.C. identity document and at least two supporting documents that show the same name and address.

Do I still need a local business licence if I register with the Province?

Yes, if your municipality requires one. Provincial registration and local licensing are separate tracks. Surrey requires a short-term rental business licence at $358 per year. Hosts must display both numbers on the listing where a local licence is required.

What is the penalty for breaking the principal residence requirement?

Schedule 4 of the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Regulation sets a maximum administrative penalty of $5,000 for a first contravention, $7,500 for a second, and $10,000 for a third or later contravention. Local governments can also ticket up to $3,000 per infraction, per day.

Are tenants allowed to host short-term rentals in B.C.?

Provincial examples allow a tenant to list the unit they live in, subject to the tenancy agreement and any strata bylaws. Surrey is stricter. The City of Surrey states that short-term rentals cannot be operated by tenants.

Did Kelowna change the rule for the rest of B.C.?

No. Kelowna opted out effective June 1, 2026 after posting a rental vacancy rate of at least 3 percent for two consecutive years. Langley City, the Township of Langley, and Surrey remain covered. Check the current provincial list each spring, because opt-in and opt-out requests now run on a February 28 deadline starting in 2027.