In most of BC's larger communities, you can host short stays only in your principal residence, plus one secondary suite or laneway home on the same property. Most hosts must also register each unit with the provincial registry, and many cities add a business licence of their own. Smaller communities and resort areas can be exempt from the residence rule.
Three layers, one conversation
The Province, your city and your building each have a say. You don't need to untangle them before you call us. Tell us where your home is and how you want to use it, and we work out what applies.
- We check your address. Our legal team weighs your home against the local rules as the very first step.
- We say it straight. If the home cannot be hosted, you hear it at the free review, before any work on it starts, with another use suggested where there is one.
- We help with the registration. We help get the city licence or provincial registration your home needs ready, and show its number on your listing.
- Then we host. Bookings, pricing, photography, cleaning, maintenance and key exchange, across Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Sunshine Coast, and case by case anywhere else in Canada.
What stays with you
- Where you live. Where the residence rule applies, the home has to be where you actually live. That is a fact about you, and no manager can supply it.
Questions owners ask
Does the residence rule apply in my town? It covers municipalities of 10,000 people and over and their smaller neighbours, and other communities can opt in. Tell us the address and we check it for you.
I don't live in the home. Is short-term hosting out? Where the rule applies, usually yes. You hear it at the review, along with any other use that could work for the home.
Checked on 11 November 2026: Province of BC, principal residence requirement.
