Victoria's mayor wants province to delay new short-term rental rules in the capital

Victoria's mayor, Marianne Alto, is trying to persuade the province to hold off on the changes until the fall.

Nancy Paine is winding down her business, Spacehost, which manages short-term rentals, and is bracing for rule changes coming soon.

However on Tuesday, she learned Victoria's mayor, Marianne Alto, is trying to persuade the province to hold off on the changes until the fall.

“I feel like government has already killed the business so this just feels like death by a thousand paper cuts,” said Paine.

As of May 1, for many communities, short-term rentals will only be allowed at a primary residence. Mayor Alto supports the restrictions, but thinks businesses like Paine’s should have more time to prepare—and the tourism industry should get to enjoy one more strong summer before rules take effect,

“We’re approaching that high season in Victoria, being the summer of course, the idea was to provide these folks one more high season before they become long-term housing providers,” said Alto Tuesday.

Orion Rodgers, with the group Property Rights B.C., thinks a delay in implementing the new rules would be a good start.

“I think it gives more time to tourism, it gives more time to individual property owners,” Rodgers said Tuesday. “It’s going to give more time to businesses in our community to adjust to these changes.”