Up-and-coming golfers in The Beachlands Victoria Open golf tournament are facing more than tough competition on the course — the new ban on many short-term rentals is limiting their accommodation options.
Many of the participants in the event, which began June 16 and runs to June 23 at Uplands Golf Club, typically stay in hotels and Airbnb-style accommodation, leaving a couple dozen that billeting co-ordinator Susan Morriss needs to find host homes for.
But this year, she was “overwhelmed” by requests for help because players on tight budgets could not find affordable places to stay.
“A lot of the players [in the past] would get together and three or four of them would rent an Airbnb and split the cost,” she said.
That option is no longer available now that many short-term rentals have been removed from the pool, as a result of new provincial legislation along with municipal rules.
Hotels filled up quickly, and the event was held two weeks later than usual, so the tourist season is already in full swing, she said.
Through word-of-mouth in the golfing community, Morriss was able to find billets for 56 players, some international, who are competing in the tournament.
Since May 1, the province has limited short-term rentals to a suite in a primary residence or garden suite on the property in about 60 communities with at least 10,000 people.
The goal is to ensure more options are available for the long-term rental housing market amid an ongoing shortage of affordable housing.
In Victoria, that’s even further limited to bedrooms in a home, while in Esquimalt, Saanich and Oak Bay, no short-term rentals are allowed at all under municipal rules.
Oak Bay’s bylaw, for example, bans renting out private homes or part of a dwelling unit for less than 30 days.
Slashing the number of short-term rentals offered through online booking platforms such as Airbnb has created an “absolute disadvantage to sports teams, families, etc. who might like to come to our city,” Morriss said.
One impact is that bed-and-breakfast prices have spiked due to rising demand, she said.
Esquimalt says on its website that it expects to review its regulations around short-term rentals in the next year. Mayor Barb Desjardins said the matter has not yet come before council.
In Victoria, anyone considering offering a short-term rental unit must comply with both provincial and municipal regulations. In the city, they’re only allowed in up to two bedrooms of a principal residence with shared kitchen and living spaces, or a whole principal residence while the owner is on vacation.
Previously, about 1,600 units had been operating in the city on a legal non-conforming basis, the province said.
The West Coast Association for Property Rights, which is challenging the new provincial legislation in B.C. Supreme Court this week, has disputed that number, saying there were 634 legally operating short-term rentals in Victoria.
Many of those were in condo buildings and had functioned as an alternative to hotels in the downtown core, serving visitors, students and workers.
In the past, the city would issue non-principal resident operator business licences for operators of short-term rental units, but the province has eliminated legal non-conforming status for short-term rentals.
The municipality of Langford does not currently regulate short-term rentals, its website said.
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