B.C. condo owner can't use her unit as an Airbnb, tribunal rules

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A B.C. woman who bought a condo with plans to use it as an Airbnb part-time has lost her bid for an exemption to the strata's bylaws prohibiting short-term rentals.

The province's small claims tribunal ruled on the dispute Wednesday, finding that while the strata's decision to deny the owner permission to use her unit for this purpose was "not favourable" it was also not "significantly unfair."

Dr. Dominique Eustace bought the unit in September of 2022, which was before the strata had a bylaw prohibiting short-term rentals, according to the decision from the Civil Resolution Tribunal

Shortly after the purchase, the City of Vancouver told her that she would need a letter from the strata authorizing the use of the condo as a short-term rental in order to obtain a municipal business licence.

Approximately two months later, Eustace was granted a hearing with the strata council to plead her case, according to the tribunal's decision. Her request for authorization was denied in a letter from the council.

"The letter says the council did not approve Dr. Eustace’s request for (short-term accommodation authorization. The letter said (short-term accommodations) can have a 'significant impact' in a strata, and no councillor made a motion to grant the authorization," tribunal member Kate Campbell wrote, summarizing the correspondence.

"The letter said that since the strata would not issue an approval letter, the city would not issue a business license, so 'short term rentals are not permitted at this property.'"

A month later, the strata convened a special general meeting where it passed a bylaw prohibiting short-term rentals, according to the decision.

Eustace challenged the strata's decision to deny her a letter on two grounds.

First, she said when she bought the condo the owner-developer issued her a "Form J rental disclosure statement," which the tribunal explains is a form that allowed for a unit to be rented out even if a strata has bylaws in place restricting rentals.

However, Campbell said that the exemption allowed as a result of this letter did not apply in Eustace's case because "rentals are legally distinct from (short-term accommodations) such as AirbnB and VRBO."

Second, Eustace argued that her request for an authorization letter should have been granted because there was no bylaw in place banning short-term rentals when she requested it.

"I find Dr. Eustace’s expectation that the strata would issue an approval letter was objectively reasonable, since there was no bylaw restricting (short-term accommodation)," Campbell wrote.

"However, I find the strata’s decision to hold a vote rather than issue the letter was not significantly unfair. The outcome was not favourable to Dr. Eustace, and I accept that there is a financial consequence to her. However, several court decisions have emphasized that strata corporations are governed by the strata lot owners, based on democratic principles … Based on this reasoning, a strata lot owner may be bound by democratically-made decisions, even if those decisions affect them negatively."

The tribunal's decision also says that even if permission had been granted before the bylaw banning short-term rentals was passed, the authorization would have "become void" as soon as the new rules were in effect.

"While the (Strata Property Act) allows retroactive exemptions for some types of bylaws, such as those about pets and age restrictions, there is no such retroactive exemption possible for (short-term accommodation) bylaws," Campbell wrote, dismissing Eustace's claim.