Kelowna Airbnb Rules 2026: Licences, STR Subzone & Exemption

Kelowna recently updated its short-term rental rules, leaving many people, including current licence holders, confused. Starting June 1, 2026, Kelowna became the first city in British Columbia to opt out of the province’s principal residence rule, but only for certain buildings on a specific list. If your property isn’t on that list, the previous rules still apply. This guide explains who qualifies, what the costs are, and where hosts can get fined for mistakes.

What Are the Current Kelowna Airbnb Rules? (Updated June 2026)

In Kelowna, any rental for less than 90 consecutive days counts as a short-term rental and needs a business licence. To rent legally, you must follow all the city’s rules. After that, your responsibilities depend on whether you’re running a minor or major rental.

Most hosts are in the Minor (secondary use) category. A principal residence is where someone lives for most of the year, at least 240 days. If you rent out a secondary suite or carriage house, you must live on the same lot as your main home. There are a few exceptions. In the Agricultural Land Reserve, you can rent up to four bedrooms for tourists, but only in your main home or a secondary suite, not in a separate carriage house. For fractional ownership, the 240-day rule doesn’t apply if the ownership agreement bans using the unit as a principal residence.

The second category, Major (principal use), is where the recent changes happened. The City got an early exemption from the Province’s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act, so short-term rentals are now allowed as a main use in certain properties starting June 1, 2026. This means you don’t have to live there to rent it out. However, only properties on a city-approved list qualify, and the city updates it as new applications are approved.

The STR Subzone: Which Buildings Can Legally Airbnb Without Living There

Kelowna achieved this by working directly with the province. A special one-time rule allowed the city to opt out of the provincial principal residence requirement starting June 1, 2026, to support major summer events that year. Other cities will be able to use this faster process starting in 2027. The council wanted the new rules in place before the Memorial Cup and BC Summer Games, not after the tourist season.

The opt-out was allowed because of changes in the city’s vacancy rate. In 2023, Kelowna’s purpose-built rental vacancy rate was just 1.2 to 1.3 percent, making it one of the tightest markets in Canada. By 2025, the Central Okanagan’s vacancy rate jumped to 6.4 percent, almost double the previous year, thanks to a lot of new rental buildings.

Getting Major status isn’t automatic. Your property must be officially rezoned into the city’s STR subzone. Right now, about two dozen addresses qualify, mostly in areas like McKinley Beach, downtown (St. Paul Street, Leon Avenue, Abbott Street), the Sunset Drive towers, South Pandosy near Cook Road, and Quail Ridge on Country Club Drive. Condo owners in eligible buildings with approvals from before 2024, such as Aqua, Movala, and Brooklyn, can now rent out their units again. If you’re looking to buy a condo for Airbnb, always check the city’s current list of eligible properties before making an offer, since the list changes often and most buildings aren’t included.

If you’re considering one of these units as an investment, focus on the real, fixed costs, like business licence fees, the 3 percent MRDT, strata fees, and a realistic Airbnb management commission if you won’t manage it yourself, rather than just looking at nightly rates. A property manager or accountant who knows short-term rentals can give you a more accurate picture than a general formula.

How to Get a Kelowna Short-Term Rental Business Licence (Step-by-Step)

The application process differs between Minor and Major licences, but some requirements are the same for both.

For a Minor (secondary use) licence, you’ll need:

• Government-issued photo ID showing your current address
• Proof you live there as your principal residence (an ICBC certificate, home owner grant confirmation, or similar)
• An owner consent form if you’re a tenant, or a strata consent form if the property is stratified
• A self-evaluation, fire and safety attestation, and a signed Good Neighbour Agreement
• A fire evacuation plan marking smoke alarms, extinguishers, exits, and sleeping units

For a Major (principal use) licence, your property must already be approved for the STR subzone before you apply. The required documents, such as strata consent, owner consent (if needed), fire safety forms, and an evacuation plan,  are mostly the same as for Minor licences. There’s a $50 application fee, and the annual business licence costs $345 for Minor licences. Major licences cost more and are adjusted each year for inflation. It usually takes 2 to 4 weeks to process a complete application. Applying online is faster because forms are sent to you and any signers through DocuSign, so you don’t have to go to City Hall.

Continue Reading: Is Airbnb Profitable in Kelowna

Strata Consent: The Hidden Requirement That Can Block Your Listing

This is where many hosts get tripped up, and it’s the main reason applications fail. Having a municipal business licence and zoning approval doesn’t override your strata’s bylaws. If your strata has voted to limit or ban short-term rentals, that rule still applies, regardless of what the city says.

Changing your strata’s rules takes real effort. Strata corporations can pass a bylaw to limit or ban short-term rentals if three-quarters of owners agree, and these rules can be stricter than provincial laws. In buildings with mostly long-term residents, getting enough support for nightly rentals is tough. That’s why the STR subzone list mostly includes buildings with a history of investor ownership. To apply for Major status, a strata council executive must sign a formal consent form as part of the rezoning package, not just give informal approval at a meeting.

It works both ways. If your strata has a bylaw against short-term rentals, they can fine you up to $1,000 per day for ongoing violations, in addition to any city or provincial penalties. Before buying a unit for short-term rental, check the strata’s current bylaws and meeting minutes. Having a city licence won’t help if your strata can fine you enough to make you stop renting.

Kelowna’s MRDT Tax: What Airbnb Hosts Must Collect and Remit

Tax obligations stack in layers, and Kelowna hosts often underestimate the total. An 8 percent Provincial Sales Tax applies to short-term accommodation in B.C., and Kelowna taxes add up quickly; many Kelowna hosts underestimate the total. There’s an 8 percent Provincial Sales Tax on short-term stays in B.C., plus a Municipal and Regional District Tax of up to 3 percent in Kelowna. That’s about 11 percent in taxes before GST. MRDT collected from hotels goes to Tourism Kelowna for marketing, while MRDT from short-term rentals booked online supports affordable housing in the city. This is a key policy difference to know if someone asks where the tax money goes. Direct, off-platform bookings: you’d then need to register with the province yourself and file the remittance directly. On top of that, GST registration becomes mandatory once your gross short-term rental revenue crosses the standard federal small-supplier threshold of $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, the same rule that applies to any small business in Canada.

Rules That Apply to Every Host: Noise, Parking, Fire Safety and Pets

Some basic rules apply to all hosts, no matter your licence type. You can have no more than two adults per sleeping unit, and only up to three bedrooms per dwelling can be rented short-term. You must also state in your online listings whether guest parking is available, along with your licence number and the number of allowed sleeping units.

Fire safety rules are detailed. Each level of your unit must have a wall-mounted, visible 2A10BC fire extinguisher—keeping it in a closet can get you fined. Smoke alarms must be tested monthly, with a logbook of test dates, and replaced every 10 years. You also need a local contact available 24/7 to handle any issues, since the city wants a real person, not a call centre, for each listing. Outside your unit, the Good Neighbour Bylaw covers guest behaviour. Parking for guests must be on your property, not on the street. If pets are allowed, you’re responsible for making sure they are leashed and their messes are cleaned up.

Fines and Dual Enforcement: City and Province Can Both Penalize You

The most important thing to know about Kelowna enforcement is that there are two separate systems. The city and the province each enforce their own rules, and they don’t need to coordinate. The City regularly inspects short-term rentals, and you can be fined up to $500 per day for each offence. If you don’t comply, the fines can get much higher, and both the city and province can take action against you.

Provincial penalties can be even higher. The maximum municipal fine is now $3,000 per infraction, per day, and regional districts can fine up to $50,000 for bylaw offences. Listings without a valid registration number are removed from the platform, and bookings on flagged listings can be cancelled. The most common reasons for inspections are operating without a licence, advertising more bedrooms than permitted, or failing to disclose parking information.

West Kelowna vs. Kelowna: Different Rules Across the Bridge

If you cross the bridge, the rules change completely. Many investors are caught off guard because they assume all Okanagan rules are the same.

West Kelowna’s exemption applies specifically to its tourist commercial zones, enabling purpose-built vacation properties like Barona Beach Resort, Boucherie Beach Cottages, Paradise Estates, The Cove Lakeside Resort, and Casa Loma Resort to retain their longtime short-term rental operations, while every other zone in the city still follows the standard principal residence rule. Out in the rural electoral areas, the RDCO allows short-term rentals in a full house, a room, or a legal secondary suite within residential zones, plus tourist cabins in commercial tourism zones, limited to one licensed STR per property with a maximum of four bedrooms and eight guests per night, and a designated representative has to be able to respond to a complaint within two hours. None of these three frameworks talk to the others. A licence in one jurisdiction means nothing in the next.

Kelowna’s rules will keep changing as the council adds more buildings to the STR subzone and the province allows other cities to opt out faster, starting in 2027. Before you list or buy a property for Airbnb, check your address against the city’s current eligible-properties list and your strata’s bylaws. Don’t just rely on what a neighbour or real estate listing says.

Every property is different. If you want to know exactly where yours stands on licensing, strata consent, and subzone eligibility, the Nomadics team offers a free introductory call to walk you through it.

Check out our related guides: the Kelowna real estate investment guide for STR cash-flow analysis

Sources

1. City of Kelowna, Short-term rentals: https://www.kelowna.ca/business-services/permits-licences/short-term-rentals
2. BC Gov News, Accelerating short-term rental opt-out process (April 17, 2026): https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2026HMA0045-000428
3. Province of British Columbia, Strata short-term rental bylaws: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/strata-housing/operating-a-strata/bylaws-and-rules/short-term-rental-bylaws
4. Province of British Columbia, Accommodation (PST/MRDT): https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst/publications/accommodation