Short Term Rental Survey

The City has been working on updating regulations related to Short Term Rental in Revelstoke and needs your feedback! The project is currently in Phase 3 of 4, which entails review of different options for regulating Short Term Rental, and ultimately drafting new bylaws. This survey is intended to allow the community to provide feedback on what regulations they think are most appropriate for managing Short Term Rental in Revelstoke. It will take approximately 15 – 25 minutes to complete.

Feel free to jump right into the survey, but in order to get the most out of it, here is some key background information to be aware of:

Short Term Rental refers to the renting of a residential dwelling unit for short term occupancy purposes (30 days or less). This could be renting out a secondary suite, or renting out an entire home (single-family home, duplex, condo etc.). Short Term Rental is currently restricted to specific properties in low density areas of the City.

Bed and Breakfast refers to the renting of bedrooms within a single-family home that is an owners principal residence for short term occupancy purposes (30 days or less). Bed and Breakfast is currently permitted in all single-family homes in low density areas of the City.

Secondary suite refers to an additional dwelling unit within a primary residence. They are sometimes referred to as basement suites, but don’t always need to be located in a basement. Secondary suites are permitted in single-family residences, duplexes, and row homes (that are separated by vertical common walls). Secondary suites are currently permitted to be used as a Short Term Rentals, but only in specific zones.

Dwelling unit means a separate, self-contained home intended to be occupied by one group of people. This could be a detached single-family home, half of a duplex, an accessory dwelling unit, a condo unit etc.

Accessory dwelling unit (ADU) refers to a detached suite that is located on a lot that contains a primary residence. These are sometimes referred to as garden suites, carriage suites, or laneway homes. ADUs are not currently permitted to be used for Short Term Rental.

Principal residence refers to the dwelling in which an individual spends the majority of their time in a given year. For the purposes of Short Term Rental regulations, an individual may only declare one principal residence in the City.

Low density residential areas refers to those parts of the City that generally contain low density development (single-family residences, duplexes, row houses etc.). Areas that contain higher density development such as apartment buildings and condos are not included.

Three policy scenarios have been developed that outline how Short Term Rental can be regulated in Revelstoke. A high level summary of these is provided below. If you want to delve deeper, visit TalkRevelstoke.ca/STR.


Policy Scenario #1: Allow Short Term Rentals with a principal residence requirement in all low-density residential areas of the City.


Policy Scenario #2: Allow Short Term Rentals with a principal residence requirement in specific low-density residential areas of the City that are deemed more suitable for this type of business (keep in mind locations for this option have not yet been selected, and you can provide feedback on this in the survey!)

Policy Scenario #3: Allow Short Term Rentals with a principal residence requirement in all low-density residential areas of the City, with a maximum cap on the number of licenses issued (keep in mind a cap has not been set yet, and you can provide feedback on this in the survey!).

With each policy scenario, one (1) Short Term Rental unit would be permitted per lot, as long as there is a principal resident who lives on the property. This could be in the same dwelling that is being Short Term Rented, or in a separate dwelling located on the same lot (for example an individual could rent out a secondary suite short term while residing in the main part of the home, or vice-versa). In addition, regulations pertaining to 24/7 property management, parking, good neighbour agreements, and advertising will be required under each scenario.

An important note to keep in mind: This project will not be changing development rights for Short Term Rentals in what are referred to as, “Comprehensive Development Zones.” This includes homes in places like Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Mackenzie Village, and the mixed-use development on Powerhouse Road. The updated Short Term Rental regulations would not apply to these “Comprehensive Development Zones” and would only apply to standard low density residential areas within Revelstoke under traditional zoning. This is because when the Comprehensive Development zoning is approved, it is intended to facilitate a unique form of development not seen in traditional areas of the City and as such, gets its own set of unique rules for how development can progress.

Another important note: Given that all policy scenarios require a principal residence, the difference between a Short Term Rental and Bed and Breakfast becomes minimal. As part of this project, it is recommended to merge together the Short Term Rental and Bed and Breakfast uses. This will make the regulatory framework more simple and clear.