Thinking of Renting Out Your Home for a Major Sporting Event? Here’s What You Need to Know

With Vancouver hosting a global soccer tournament at BC Place, millions of fans from around the world will be descending on the province and hotels are filling up fast. If you're a homeowner in the Lower Mainland or beyond, this could be an excellent time to rent a room or your place out short-term to meet the growing demand of fans.

But before you list your home and start counting the bookings, there's important information you need to know about BC's short-term rental regulations — and how to make sure you're properly covered.

BC has made changes to their short-term rental laws

In May 2024, the BC Government updated their Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act. Short-term rentals are considered stays of less than 90 days. In over 60 BC communities, short-term rentals are restricted to the host’s principal residence and one secondary suite or what is known as an “accessory dwelling unit” on the same property. In the city of Vancouver you can only rent your primary home as a short-term rental. You are not permitted to rent out a second home, secondary suite (if not your principal residence) or laneway home as a short-term rental. 

If you live in one of these communities, this means:

• You can:
  Rent your home to short-term guests if it is your primary place of residence. This means you can rent out the whole place while you’re away to attend tournament matches yourself, a spare room in your primary residence or one secondary suite or “accessory dwelling unit” on the property. That includes a laneway house, carriage house, room above garage, basement suite or cabin on your property.
  Note: Some cities and municipalities such as Vancouver, may have additional short-term rental restrictions beyond provincial regulations. We recommend checking with your local government for any rules specific to your community.
• You cannot:
  Rent your home to short-term guests if it’s not your primary residence – like an investment property or some vacation homes. You cannot rent more than one secondary suite or “accessory dwelling unit” on the property.

BC’s largest communities are affected

Here’s the list of BC communities affected by these changes to short-term rentals and you’ll find these communities on an interactive map. In short, your community is on the list if it has over 10,000 people or is close to a larger community.

These communities, among others, include Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Greater Vancouver, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Nelson, Penticton, Prince George, Sechelt, Vernon and Victoria.

There are exceptions to the rules

Some types of accommodation are exempt from the principal residence requirement. That’s because they were never meant to be long-term residences or restrictions on their ownership or use makes them unsuitable as long-term housing.

These include:

• Certain strata-titled hotels or motels (check out information for strata-titled hotels or motels)
• Timeshare properties
• Home exchanges
• Fractional ownership properties, where the owner may not use the property as a principal residence
• Lodges, e.g., overnight accommodations provided by an operator of outdoor recreational activities (hunting, fishing, water sports)
• Living accommodations for students or employees of an educational institution that’s owned or operated by the institution or a non-profit
• Strata corporation guest suites

Complete definitions for everything listed above can be found here.

Why the changes?

BC is facing a serious housing and affordability crisis. Before the new rules, about 16,000 entire homes were used as short-term rentals for most of the year – homes that could otherwise house long term BC residents. These changes have returned tens of thousands of homes to the BC housing market,while still allowing homeowners to take advantage of major tourism moments – like this summer’s international soccer tournament.  

To rent your home during the 2026 tournament, you should: 

• Follow the provincial principal residence requirements, where applicable. If you do not, there are fines for non-compliance.
• Check local bylaws and licensing requirements for your municipality. Some local governments require hosts to display a valid business licence number on their listing. Sign up with your chosen short-term rental platform and build your property profile. You’ll need to share your legal identity and tax info with the platform. 
• Register with BC's provincial short-term rental registry and display your registration number on any listing. More info for hosts here. Make sure your home insurance covers you for short-term rentals. 
• Prepare your space for international guests, including clear instructions, local transit info and anything that helps visiting fans feel at home in Vancouver. 
• Review your coverage, ensure that your home insurance policy is up to date and covers short term rentals.  

Are you covered for short-term rentals?

Make sure to review your current home insurance coverage to learn if your existing policy covers you for short-term renting. Most standard policies do not.

A short-term rental coverage add-on will typically provide coverage for many hosts’ biggest concerns such as: 

• Legal liability scenarios (like a guest getting injured in your short-term rental)
• Loss or damage to your building
• Personal property and renters’ property
• Loss of rental income
• Intentional or criminal acts by a guest

Contact your home insurance provider to have this coverage added to your policy if you need. 

Choose a home insurance provider you can count on

It's natural to feel nervous welcoming your first short-term guests into your home, but it pays to remember majority of the time stays go smoothly.

Have confidence as a host when you have BCAA Home Insurance with Short Term Rental Coverage, knowing BCAA paid out over 95% of claims related to fire, water, weather and theft*. BCAA Members can save up to 20%, plus save an additional 5% in your first year when you buy online.

Get a free, online quote today at bcaa.com/home or speak to one of our expert advisors to learn if BCAA Home Insurance's Short Term Rental Coverage is right for you.