Kelowna is on-track to reinstate over 100 short-term rental operations in time for the summer tourist season.
During a council meeting on Monday, May 4, council adopted zoning changes that would allow for short-term rental operations outside a primary residence in dozens of properties.
According to Kelowna’s Chief Planner Nola Kilmartin, the city is ready to issue around 122 short-term rental licences this week.
Kilmartin added a total of 253 applications for “major” short-term rental operations have been received by the city as of May 4.
The reinstatement of some of the short-term rentals in the city comes a few weeks after the B.C. government granted Kelowna an early exemption to the short-term rental accommodations act, which restricted short-term rental operations to the owner’s principal residence or secondary suite on the principal residence property.
Prior to the reinstatement, council adopted bylaw amendments that created a new “short-term rental (STR) subzone” that would allow for more flexibility in short-term rental operations.
The amendments allowed for “major” operations, meaning that short-term rental operators under the STR subzone don’t need the listed property to be the operator’s primary residence.
As the May 4 meeting was the first meeting since the provincial exemption, this was the first meeting to officially the short-term rental changes.
During the meeting, council made zoning amendments that added the STR subzone to 19 properties within McKinley Beach Resort, Downtown Urban Centre, Pandosy Urban Centre, Village Centre and a Strata located on Country Club Drive. Three properties located on Leon Avenue, McKinley Beach Lane and Northern Flicker Court were also rezoned to add the STR subzone.
The short-term rental changes come right as the summer tourist season is about to start in Kelowna.
As Mayor Tom Dyas and the rest of council touted over the last year, Kelowna is expected to have a big tourist season in 2026, hosting events such as the Memorial Cup, Touchdown Kelowna and the BC Summer Games.
The Memorial Cup is the first of these major sporting events coming up. The hockey tournament will start on May 21 and will last until May 31.