The City of Richmond now has two options to go after illegally run short-term rentals: a $1,000 penalty that can get caught up in court if unpaid, or a $500 penalty that can be tacked onto a property tax bill if neglected.
In addition, the city is looking at a licencing program in order to create a public registry of short-term rental accommodations.
The lower fine option of $500 is a bylaw infraction whereas the $1,000 penalty is issued under the Municipal Ticket Information (MTI) and any disputes of MTIs have to be handled in provincial court, something that has proved to be costly and time consuming for the city.
According to the report, last year, the city issued 75 tickets to illegal short-term rentals and collected $36,000 in fines; in 2017, it issued 87 tickets and collected $41,800.
Richmond currently has 610 monthly short-term rentals listed. Since 2017, the city has identified 541 illegal rentals and 524 of them have ceased operations, according to the city.
At Monday’s council meeting, where council did a one-year review of the short-term rental bylaw and passed the amendments, staff pointed out they have 12 MTI infractions going to court in March alone. Staff will assess case by case whether to give out $500 bylaw tickets or $1,000 MTIs. Staff also confirmed that multiple tickets can be given out for multiple infractions and, if not paid, the bylaw penalties can be put on the property owner’s tax bill.
- with files from Daisy Xiong
