The city of Kelowna is hiring a company to crack down on the hundreds of short-term rentals they believe are operating illegally in the city.
According to the city, more than 800 people still don’t have one five months after a short-term rental was officially made mandatory.
The city said it was labor intensive to find these unlicensed operators, so they hire a company to do the job for around $ 100,000 a year.
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Airbnb operators in Kelowna are threatened with $ 500 a day after the July 1st licensing deadline
However, the city said taxpayers don’t have to pay that bill.
Instead, Kelowna expects to cover the costs through license fees.
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The group urges the city to tighten the rules on short-term rentals in Edmonton
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License prices for short-term renters vary, but are typically between $ 350 and $ 750 per year, more than three times the cost of Vancouver.
That’s too much for licensed short-term landlord, Cherie Hansen, who has paid less than $ 30 for a business license for years.
“For those of us who are seniors, and the largest percentage of Airbnb operators in Kelowna are seniors who are open about 60 days a year, which hurts us very much to increase the business license,” Hansen said.
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More than 3,600 fraudulent short-term rental providers face enforcement, the city of Vancouver says
The city said it sent hundreds of warning letters to unlicensed short-term renters in the fall and is now seeing “positive results”.
“People realize they’ve been caught and they come in and see what they need to do to get the 2020 license,” said Greg Wise, Kelowna’s business license manager.
The city said it hasn’t imposed fines yet, but they are coming and will cost operators $ 500 a day.
If someone has multiple fines, the city plans to take legal action.
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