Frustration over party houses and slow response times to problem renters contrasted with arguments in favour of rental properties as mortgage helpers at a public hearing on rule changes to short-term rental accommodations.
“[In] the past week, more than 60 people have moved through that house,” said Langdale resident Joe Freeburn in an impassioned speech at the June 18 hearing, held at the Seaside Centre in Sechelt.
“We cannot sit on our deck and have dinner because of the noise coming from that house,” Freeburn said. “The reputation of this party house has now affected our property value, and that’s not acceptable.” Freeburn recommended the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) require property owners to live on the premises they rent.
Other speakers suggested that if the SCRD goes ahead with temporary use permits for off-site property managers – a proposed change to the SCRD bylaw governing short-term rentals – that fines be strict enough to prevent the spread of party houses.
Some, however, made a case for off-site management, arguing it’s a critical affordability tool for homeowners.
One woman said she purchased a home with the goal of retiring on the Sunshine Coast, and rents the property in the meantime to cover the mortgage. “I have had no complaints in seven years. I am extremely picky about who I rent to,” she said. “I’m fully wiling to pay whatever charges come from these changes,” she added in reference to proposed costs associated with temporary use permits.
Another speaker said she would be forced to sell her home if off-site management wasn’t allowed.
Meanwhile, neighbours affected by party houses raised frustrations about response times from authorities and property managers. A proposed bylaw change to deal with that issue would require off-site operators to resolve any issues within 24 hours of being notified.
“It’s been desperately disappointing for myself, for my neighbours,” said one resident who lives near a vacation rental. “I also don’t believe a response time of 24 hours is acceptable in any way, when these people are partying hardy at three o’clock in the afternoon and it’s only getting louder as they continue to drink through the evening. An immediate 15- to 20-minute response is required,” she said, adding that she is forced to sleep with her windows closed “because of the ongoing chaos.”
A resident from Halfmoon Bay said she has stopped inviting friends to stay overnight at her home because of a short-term rental property with five bedrooms, located 12 metres from her house. “For the last two years I have not slept in my own bedroom, I have to sleep in the guest room on the other side of my house,” she said, urging directors to reduce the numbers of bedrooms allowed.
For others, however, proposed bedroom limits were too restrictive, since they often rent to families. One speaker argued the two-person per bedroom limit in some rural areas was “just not realistic.”
In the second round, speakers on both sides of the off-site operator proposal repeated their positions, with the night’s first speaker, Freeburn, among those giving the last word.
“People who are running B&Bs, that’s fantastic,” Freeburn told the SCRD directors overseeing the hearing. “But owners that are not on the Coast, that have no intentions of being on the Coast, that’s what we should be stopping. It’s a challenge for you to be able to identify who those people are and stop them.”
SCRD directors are not permitted to receive communications from the public before consideration is given to third reading of the bylaw amendments.
