
Vancouver short-term rental data at stake in ongoing freedom of information dispute
VANCOUVER - Vancouver affordable housing advocate Rohana Rezel says he's keeping up a six-year freedom of information fight with the City of Vancouver and Airbnb over data on short-term rental operators despite it likely being out of date.
Rezel filed two requests with the city under the Freedom of Information and the Protection of Privacy Act in 2019, seeking records about Airbnb and other short-term rental operators in Vancouver, including names, addresses and business licence numbers.
The city refused and Airbnb opposed the release, leading to years of legal wrangling involving B.C.'s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, and the province's Supreme and Appeal Courts.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
An adjudicator with the privacy office ruled in 2021 that the city wasn't allowed to 'refuse access' to business licence numbers and addresses of short-term rentals, but Airbnb and the city went to court claiming the office was obligated to notify 20,000 short-term rental operators to give them a chance to weigh in on the dispute.
An adjudicator's decision released Wednesday says the commissioner's office is not required to contact the thousands of owners, finding it 'would not be a fair, timely or efficient administration' of the act, and both the city and company could have raised the issue 'as early as possible but failed to do so.'
Rezel says the information he's seeking is likely out of date now, but he plans to continue fighting for access, over the dispute that has evolved from access to housing data to a 'battle for public transparency' and corporate interests versus a citizen's right to access public information.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2025.
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Globe and Mail
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Winnipeg Free Press
10 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
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Some Winnipeg residents also feared such properties were becoming frequent sources of parties and criminal activity. Under the new regulations, introduced in April 2024, property owners can license only one short-term rental unit at their primary residence. Some owners were grandfathered into the regulations, allowing them to license one primary residence and up to three secondary residences, as long as they owned the properties before Feb. 23, 2023. Operators must now limit the period renters can stay in their properties to less than 30 days and pay a six per cent accommodation tax — among other requirements. A new annual report shows the licensing fees and taxes totalled just under $1.3 million as of March 31. After accounting for expenses, the changes brought about $700,000 into the city coffers. According to the report, the city issued 698 licences over the past year. Of that number, 341 were for primary residences, while 352 were for non-primary. 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'Their own data shows that there were very few fines handed out, very few licences denied. And, I'm happy there were some licences denied because there was a black spot in our industry and hopefully that has been stamped out,' Mitchell said. Community services committee chair Coun. Vivian Santos said the report is critical for determining the scale and needs of Winnipeg's short-term rental sector. 'Now that we've brought this bylaw forward and we have these licences, it's good to see this data open and transparent,' said Santos (Point Douglas). The report will help inform a larger, ongoing study financed by the federal government, which committed nearly $800,000 to review short-term rental regulations in Winnipeg. Santos noted city council is open to amending the regulations, should they need fine-tuning. Mitchell said changes are necessary. She argued against the 30-day limit on short-term rental stays, calling it a 'nuisance.' The regulation makes it difficult to rent to people visiting Winnipeg for extended stays, or those who have been displaced from their homes for long periods due to emergencies, she said. Before the rules were enacted, many owners would prioritize mid-term bookings (beyond 30 days, but less than one year) and fill any occupancy gaps with short-term stays, she said. Former short-term rental owner Kevin Barske said he chose not to renew his licence in April out of frustration with the rule. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Without the ability to offer both short- and mid-term stays, his occupancy rate dropped to about 56 per cent over the last year, he said. 'My bread and butter was always business people and insurance claims that were coming into Winnipeg for longer than 30 days,' Barske said. 'My unit is occupied less, I'm making less money, plus the extra expenses of licensing and all the headaches for compliance — all that stuff — I just figured it wasn't worth the hassle.' The community services committee is set to review the annual report during a meeting Friday. Tyler SearleReporter Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler. Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.