I’ve just finished reading, “Vacation rentals down by 36% following District of Squamish bylaw,” [published Jan. 14 online] on the decline in Airbnb rentals. I am fully in agreement that Squamish needed to have more long-term rentals for people who live here, but the ball got dropped on an area that hasn’t been discussed to my knowledge.
I live in Squamish for part of the year. I can’t rent out my condo for long-term rentals because it’s my home when I live here. However, it’s available for about eight months of the year for short-term rentals but that doesn’t qualify under any of the guidelines that I read.
Because of this, I have had to lay off the person who managed this property for me which has impacted her financially.
This also has an impact on tourism with fewer rental places for people to stay which impacts restaurants and shops. It would seem with all the condos being built that there are likely many being purchased with the same intent - to live in the condo for part of the year and enjoy everything that Squamish has to offer and then to earn income from it for the other part. This just doesn’t seem to be an option with the current guidelines in place.
In summary, I feel that the pendulum might have been too far one way with all the short-term rentals available, but now it’s swung too far the other way in an effort to fix the housing problem. I brought this issue up when it was being debated in council, but I never received any response.
Janice Robinson
Squamish
