City underwhelmed by Olympic rental-licence applications

The city was expecting upwards of 1,000 Vancouverites to apply for a business licence that allows legal home rentals during the Olympics.

But three months after the by-law was passed, only 13 people have coughed up the $106 fee for the business licence.

Celine Mauboules, housing policy planner, acknowledges the applications are low and says the city is trying to spread the word through brochures and postings on Craigslist so that would-be landlords are aware of the by-law.

“We think there will be a bit of a lull; it’s summer, it’s vacation time. We think come fall, there will be a bit of a pick-up as people think about what they want to do come Games time,” she said.

The by-law was put in place in April to allow more temporary rentals during the 2010 Games. Prior to passing the by-law, the city did not allow rentals of fewer than 30 days in residential districts.

Under the new by-law, anyone renting out two or more rooms must apply for the business licence. Those renting out an entire suite or house must also apply.

However, those who took on tenants after June 1 are ineligible for the licence, in a measure designed to prevent landlords from evicting long-term tenants in order to cash in on Olympic gold.

The city has set up a tenant registry so people can register their names if they signed a lease after June 1. So far, 87 tenants have registered their names.

But other than cross-referencing addresses on the tenant registry, city hall has few tools to catch those illegally evicting tenants.

It’s also impossible to ensure that every single homeowner who intends to rent out space during the Olympics has applied for the licence.

“We are doing some pro-active things. We put a posting on Craigslist about the new city by-law. But it’s how all city by-laws are enforced. We don’t typically have the ability to go knocking on doors so a lot of it is done on a complaint-driven basis,” said Mauboules.

A city report estimates that of the 350,000 ticketed spectators, 60 per cent will be from outside the Lower Mainland.