The BC Short-Term Rental Registry: What a Host Has to Do

Every short-term rental host in British Columbia needs a provincial registration number, has to show it on every listing, and has to renew it each year. Platforms are required to remove listings that do not carry a valid number. This is the one rule that switches a listing off by itself, with no warning letter first.

What the registry asks for

• The address of the unit and whether it is your principal residence.
• Your local business licence number, where the municipality issues one.
• A declaration that the unit complies with local bylaws and any strata rules.
• Renewal every year, with the fee paid again.

The application is online and takes an evening if you have the documents. Where it stalls is the business licence, because some municipalities take weeks to issue one, and the province will not register a unit the municipality has not licensed. Start with city hall.

The principal-residence requirement

In most larger communities a short-term rental has to be your principal residence, plus one secondary suite or accessory unit on the same property. Resort communities and smaller places are treated differently, and a municipality can now ask to opt out. Kelowna was the first to do so, on June 1, 2026. Before you buy a place to rent, find out which category your community is in. The provincial short-term rentals page lists them, and the list changes.

The rule is about where you live, and the registry asks for proof: a driver's licence, tax documents, or utility bills at the address. A host who lists a second condo in a principal-residence community is not going to get a number, and without a number the listing comes down.

The strata question

A strata bylaw that prohibits short-term rental is enforceable, and the registry asks you to declare compliance with strata rules. Read the bylaws before anything else. Some stratas allow rentals of 30 nights or more only, which takes you out of the short-term market and out of the GST/HST net at the same time. Some allow it with a registration and a fee to the strata. Get the current bylaws in writing from the council, with a date.

The number goes on the listing

Put the registration number in the listing text and in the platform's registration field. Platforms check the number against the registry and remove listings that fail. A number that lapses at renewal comes off the listing the same way, so put the renewal date somewhere you will see it. The Canada edition of the Registry, Permit and Tax Tracker counts down to it and turns negative when you are late.

The taxes on every night

• PST on accommodation at 8 percent, charged on the nightly rate.
• The Municipal and Regional District Tax of up to 3 percent, in communities that have opted in.
• In the City of Vancouver, a 2.5 percent Major Events MRDT until January 31, 2030.
• GST at 5 percent, once your short-stay revenue passes the federal threshold. The GST/HST article explains the four-quarter test.

Platforms collect some of these for some hosts. Find out which, in writing, and remit the rest yourself. The province registers you for PST and MRDT separately from the short-term rental registry, through the Ministry of Finance, and the returns are separate too.

What to keep on file

• The registration confirmation with the number and the expiry date.
• The business licence, current year.
• The municipality's written answer on zoning, with the date.
• The strata bylaws you relied on, with the date you got them.
• The insurance certificate that names paying guests.
• Every PST and MRDT return, filed and paid.

Keep them in one folder, digital and printed. When a platform or the province asks, the answer is a photo of a page, not a week of searching.

Why a lapse costs more than the listing

Since January 1, 2024, the federal Income Tax Act denies every expense on a short-term rental that does not comply with provincial and municipal rules. An unregistered BC rental does not get to deduct the mortgage interest, the cleaning, or the repairs. The registration fee is the cheapest tax decision you will make this year. Toronto and Quebec hosts face the same federal rule with their own local schemes; the Toronto article covers Ontario.

The renewal calendar

Three renewals fall due every year and none of them remind you: the provincial registration, the business licence, and the insurance. Put all three in the tracker with the dates a month early. The tracker's Filing Calendar tab holds them beside the tax returns, so the whole year is on one sheet.

Before the first guest

1. Ask the municipality in writing whether short-term rental is permitted at the address, and get the business licence if one is required.
2. Confirm the strata allows it. A bylaw that says no ends the plan.
3. Register with the province and put the number on the listing.
4. Register for PST and MRDT if you will charge them yourself.
5. Set the renewal dates in the tracker.

Checked against the Province of British Columbia in August 2026. The registry rules have changed more than once since 2023, so re-check before each renewal. Hosting in Canada holds the current summary for every province covered here.