A new report by Statistics Canada shows the country’s total number of short-term rental listings increased by more than 60 per cent between 2017 and 2023, while the number of short-term rental units that could be used as long-term housing grew by more than 80 per cent.
The report identified more than 100,000 short-term rentals that could be homes.
But the fact that figure makes up less than one per cent of Canada’s total housing stock, according to the data, only adds more fuel to the debate in British Columbia over the province’s recent crackdown on short-term rentals in a bid to bolster the long-term housing market.
Proponents of the new regulations, which restrict short-term rentals to principal residences, say any housing added to the available stock will help in the current crisis, while Airbnb and short-term rental owners say it won’t make a difference.
Marie-Christine Bernard, assistant director of Statistics Canada and co-author of the report, noted that the research, which used data up to 2023 from Statistics Canada and short-term rental tracking platform AirDNA, did not look at the impact of short-term rentals on affordability or vacancy rates.
“We wanted to put it in perspective in terms of the housing market. We didn’t want to necessarily say that it’s not significant. It depends on the community,” she said.
Bernard said that to determine which short-term rental units had the potential to become longer-term housing, researchers looked at units that were not vacation homes, offered an entire house instead of a private room and were available to rent at least 180 days out of the year.
The data only includes short-term rentals from the Airbnb and VRBO platforms.
Provincial regulation limits short-term rentals
The report found B.C. had the highest percentage of short-term rental units suitable for long-term housing, followed by Prince Edward Island.
Although short-term rentals are a small percentage of the overall housing stock, B.C. leaders argue that returning some of them to the long-term market could go a long way toward helping those currently struggling to find homes.
It comes as B.C. begins to ramp up enforcement efforts of its new short-term rental restrictions in the wake of a preliminary analysis by the province, which found more than 10,000 listings operating illegally.
Andy Yan from the Simon Fraser University City Program says that while the number of short-term rentals is relatively small compared to the overall Canadian housing stock, the number of potential long-term dwellings listed in the data could significantly affect the rental market.
B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said in an interview last week with the CBC that he has found it difficult to add to the available housing stock due to the growing number of units used for short-term rentals in communities across B.C.
“My view is we need this housing available to people here,” he said.
Ontario and British Columbia had the highest share of short-term rental units that could be potential long-term homes in 2023, with 38,955 and 29,643, respectively.
Thorben Wieditz, executive director of the advocacy group Fairbnb, said that weighing the number of short-term rentals next to the overall housing stock is “comparing apples to oranges.”
Looking at the vacancy rate in a given municipality is a more fruitful comparison when trying to determine the impact of short-term rentals on the housing market, he says.
Ravi Kahlon says that West Vancouver was the only municipality to reject B.C.’s rules on multi-unit housing and has issued an ultimatum to the city to accept rules that would upzone many single-family home lots. In an interview with On The Coast, he also says the province is looking to go after those who break regulations regarding short-term rentals.
In January, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported a national vacancy rate of 1.5 per cent – the lowest rate on record by the agency. According to Wieditz’s analysis, adding the 100,000 potential long-term dwellings nationwide back into the market could raise this to 2.4 per cent.
With a vacancy rate of 0.9 per cent, Vancouver was the nation’s tightest major rental market with the highest monthly average rents.
“Short-term rentals have not caused the housing crisis,” Wieditz said. “But short-term rentals, as research study after research study has shown, contribute to and exacerbate existing housing crises.”
Nathan Rotman, Airbnb’s regional lead for the northeastern U.S. and Canada, told CBC News earlier this week that he does not feel the new short-term rental restrictions in B.C. will make a difference in the housing market.
He said Airbnb has shared data on illegal listings with the City of Vancouver and the City of New York, but high rent prices and low vacancy rates continue to be an issue for many seeking housing.
“There are going to be fewer short-term rentals in communities across the province because of this legislation,” said Rotman. “We know that it won’t have a significant impact on the housing market, and it will have a significant impact, however, on the jobs that support the tourist economy.”
Bernard cautioned that just because the study identified 107,266 potential long-term dwellings does not mean that all of these units would return to the market if they were no longer short-term rentals.
“We have to remember, they may not all go back to rental [markets],” she said, noting that the impact of regulations like B.C.’s is something that could be studied further.
“Instead of saying it’s very small, nothing should be done about it, I think it should be taken community by community.”