Enforcement of the province’s new short-term-rental rules have kicked-in, but the Mayor of Victoria says there are only about 385 units in the city that are affected.
Those include units in places like the Janion Building, which were allowed to be short term rentals under a special city licence.
Otherwise, Mayor Marianne Alto says the province's new rules mostly align with what Victoria was already doing, "So for those, I think it's 385 units, there will be a significant difference. But for the city as a whole our policies as they exist are so close that it won't make a significant difference to how we do our work."
Alto says something that will be different is more provincial help on enforcement.
"We are keen and welcoming of a greater role for the province on enforcement. They have a whole series of regulations around how they do enforcement, what their fines are, that sort of thing. We're happy that they're taking on a piece of that work because it's been pretty onerous for us."
The new penalties range from $500 to $5,000 a day and even more for corporations.
Short-term rentals are now limited to a principal residences or certain suites within a principal residences, as the province clamps down on homes being used only as vacation rental properties.