This coastal B.C. community is cracking down on short-term rentals
A resort municipality on Vancouver Island is cracking down on the proliferation of short-term rentals in residential neighbourhoods as it grapples with a housing shortage.
Members of the Ucluelet, B.C., council voted earlier this month to amend a bylaw to limit new bed and breakfasts to three guestrooms per building and a maximum of two guests per room.
Guestrooms are prohibited from having fully equipped kitchenettes and guests must use the home's main door rather than a separate entry.
The amended bylaw also mandates that a bed and breakfast must be operated by the property's primary resident as the municipality hopes to promote the "traditional B&B" over short-term rentals on websites like Airbnb and Vrbo.
"Limiting the proliferation of B&Bs in residential neighbourhoods is one step that Ucluelet can take to improve housing access and affordability," the municipality says on its webpage explaining the bylaw changes.
Municipal leaders voted 3-2 in favour of the amendments during a special meeting of council on Sept. 6.
Ucluelet, which is 40 kilometres southeast of the popular tourist town of Tofino, B.C., has seen an explosion in online short-term rentals even as the region struggles to house its year-round residents and seasonal workers.
Many of those online rentals cropped up to exploit "a loophole into the commercial vacation accommodation market," according to the municipality.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Body of Quebec man who died in Cuba found in Russia, family confirms
A Montreal-area family confirmed to CTV News that the body of their loved one who died while on vacation in Cuba is being repatriated to Canada after it was mistakenly sent to Russia.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Saskatchewan isn't remitting the carbon tax on home heating. Why isn't my province following suit?
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
RCMP officers had no legal authority to enter man's home, make arrest: B.C. court
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of assaulting two RCMP officers – with the court finding he was resisting an "unlawful entry and arrest" in his home before he was tasered, taken down and hauled away in handcuffs.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.