# Short-Term Rentals and BC Strata Bylaws After Bill 35 > Bill 35 changed short-term rental rules across BC, but your strata keeps its own bylaw power. Here is how the two systems work together. Published: 2026-04-14 Author: Andrey (OpenStrata Team) Topics: Bylaws & rules, Strata councils, BC strata basics ## Key takeaways - Bill 35, the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, added province-wide rules and a mandatory registry, but it did not remove a strata's power to make its own short-term rental bylaws. - A BC strata can still pass a bylaw that limits or bans short-term rentals and set fines of up to $1,000 a day for each contravention. - Provincial, municipal, and strata rules can apply at the same time, so a short-term rental may need to satisfy all three. ## Why this matters for councils Bill 35, formally the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, added new province-wide short-term rental rules starting in 2024, including a principal residence requirement and a provincial registry that became mandatory on May 1, 2025. Importantly for councils, it did not take away your strata's authority to make its own bylaws. Your strata can still limit or ban short-term rentals and enforce that with fines. > Note: This article is general information only and is not legal advice. For legal questions, consult a qualified strata lawyer or the relevant BC government resources. ## What Bill 35 actually changed Bill 35 received Royal Assent on October 26, 2023, and its rules were phased in. The main provincial changes are a principal residence requirement, which limits short-term rentals to a host's principal residence in many communities, and a registry that all hosts and platforms must join. Since May 1, 2025, platforms are expected to validate provincial registration numbers, and unregistered listings can be removed. You can review the Province's summary on the [BC government short-term rental legislation page](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/short-term-rental-legislation). ## What your strata can still do Your strata's bylaw power is separate from the provincial rules. Under the Strata Property Regulation, a strata can pass a bylaw that restricts or prohibits using a residential strata lot for short-term accommodation, and can set a fine of up to **$1,000 for each contravention**. That is much higher than the general bylaw fine limit. Note that a strata cannot ban long-term rentals; that power was removed in late 2022. ## How the rules work together A single short-term rental can be subject to provincial rules, a local government's rules, and your strata's bylaws all at once. These pathways are not mutually exclusive. In practice, that can make enforcement easier for councils: a host who ignores your bylaw may also be breaking provincial or municipal rules, which gives more than one route to address the problem. Where does your strata's authority come from? It flows from the bylaws and the council's role in enforcing them, which we cover in [what a BC strata council actually does](https://openstrata.ca/blog/what-does-a-bc-strata-council-do/index.md). ## Updating a short-term rental bylaw If your strata wants to add or change a short-term rental bylaw, the amendment must be approved by a three-quarter vote at a general meeting and filed at the Land Title Office within 60 days. Because poorly worded bylaws have sometimes been found unenforceable, many councils have a strata lawyer review the wording before the vote. ## Keeping bylaws where residents can find them Short-term rental questions come up often, from owners, tenants, and prospective buyers. When your current bylaws live in one accessible place rather than scattered across email and old binders, residents can check the rule themselves and council spends less time answering the same question. That is the kind of shared, current record OpenStrata is designed to keep. ## Questions and answers ### Can a BC strata still ban short-term rentals after Bill 35? Yes. Bill 35 did not remove a strata's power to make its own bylaws. A strata can pass a bylaw that limits or bans short-term rentals in residential strata lots. ### How much can a strata fine for breaking a short-term rental bylaw? A strata can set a fine of up to $1,000 for each contravention of a short-term rental bylaw. This is higher than the general bylaw fine limit, and the maximum must be set out in the bylaw. ### Does the provincial registry replace our strata bylaws? No. The provincial registry and the principal residence requirement are separate from your strata's bylaws. Provincial, municipal, and strata rules can all apply at once. ### Can a strata ban long-term rentals too? No. Since late 2022, BC strata corporations cannot have a bylaw that restricts or bans long-term rentals. The higher short-term rental fines apply only to short-term accommodation bylaws. ## More from OpenStrata - [All BC strata guides](https://openstrata.ca/blog/index.md): Browse every published OpenStrata guide. - [OpenStrata features](https://openstrata.ca/features/index.md): See how the platform supports BC strata councils.