Will B.C.’s short-term rental crackdown really work?

In today’s Big Story Podcast, regulating short-term rentals like AirBnB as a way to ease the housing crisis isn’t a new idea — it’s been tried in plenty of cities in North America and beyond. But British Columbia’s new legislation goes much further than most, and though it was just announced two weeks ago, a glance at apartments on sale in Victoria and Vancouver show that it’s having an impact already.

Ryan Hook is a journalist who reported on this for Ricochet. “What is the simplest way to put some houses on the market and hopefully get them to a cost where first-time home buyers can buy them? And in my opinion, this was just one way to do that.”

So, what’s in the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act that makes it a step beyond other North American efforts. Has it gone too far, or not far enough? And if it works, could it become a model for other provinces to follow?

You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify. You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.