Controlling Stratas Ban on Rentals in Victoria

The Strata Property Act permits a strata corporation to restrict the amount of units available for rent or the time length that rentals are permitted (or prohibit rentals altogether). However, in the City of Victoria, the Victoria city council are considering removing the power of strata corporations to ban any rentals except for short term rentals. While the City of Victoria already prevents stratas built in the last 10 years from restricting rentals, the City is considering applying this ban to all stratas regardless of when they were built.

More information on this proposed ban can be found on the Vancouver Sun.

Stratas and rentals are a complicated relationship. Some resident owners are comforted by rental bans because they feel that renters would devalue the place, damage the common property and cause unreasonable noise. Other owners specifically purchase a strata unit for the income potential of renting the unit out. It is a careful balance in some stratas between the two.

Banning rental restrictions would remove the power from owners choosing to restrict rentals and is an interesting choice by the City of Victoria when other cities only restrict short term rentals and don't force stratas to permit rentals. We will have to see if the City of Victoria proceeds with the ban to solve the issue of not enough rental units available for the rental demand.





TAEYA FITZPATRICK

Taeya Fitzpatrick has specialized in strata law for most of her practice, has won cases for her clients in the BC Supreme Court, the BC Court of Appeal, and assisted with a client succeeding in defending a Civil Resolution Tribunal claim. Taeya offers full services to a strata corporation or a strata owner from redrafting the strata’s bylaws, collection of outstanding strata fees or other charges, issues with bylaw enforcement, to amending the strata plan. For more information on the services provided, you can reach Taeya by email, phone: 250-763-4323, or at her Web Page

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