Nanaimo city council voted to direct city staff to look at increasing fines for violating the city’s short term rental bylaw from $250 to $500 at its meeting on March 18.
According to a staff report, only 30 per cent of short term rentals in Nanaimo have complied with a municipal bylaw that requires short-term rental owners to have a business licence.
As of March 1, a city staff report found that the city had issued 291 business licences for short-term rentals. 60 per cent of which were in primary residences, 35 per cent in secondary suites and five per cent in detached suites.
According to the report, there are at least 980 active listings on Airbnb and VRBO and the number of short-term rental listings in the city increased by almost 25 per cent between 2022 and 2023.
