An effort by the provincial government to transition short-term rental units into long-term rentals to help ease the housing crisis will have unintended negative consequences, says the owner of a B.C. condo that is rented out on Airbnb.

Anurag Sharma owns a 290-square-foot condo in the Janion building in Victoria. He and his wife purchased the unit as an investment in July for around $400,000.

香蕉视频直播淲e have been working for the last 10 years, saved a lot of money cutting corners here and there, and then took a heavy mortgage,香蕉视频直播� he said.

Sharma is passionate about his business, and like most people making their first investment, he is nervous about whether they have made the right decision.

香蕉视频直播淭rying to make money or to break even, you might take a couple of years to cover the cost of the initial $400K and I香蕉视频直播檓 just talking about the initial cost of setting up the interest rate.香蕉视频直播�

The province recently unveiled new legislation restricting short-term rentals, a decision that has been criticized by Airbnb and led to a flood of letters to the editor from people who own short-term rental condos in Victoria. These owners say the legislation will hurt the tourism industry, including people who run businesses specializing in cleaning short-term rental units.

Sharma does not understand why the legislation targets people who own legal non-conforming short-term suites as they are already required to pay for a City of Victoria Short Term Rental Business Licence for $2,500.

香蕉视频直播淭he money which landlords contribute to the City of Victoria by paying the licences and the taxes is more than one and a half million,香蕉视频直播� Sharma said.

The changes in the new will force more landlords out of the rental market and might not have the desired result of increasing housing stock, said Sharma.

香蕉视频直播淢any landlords in this building will not do it. They will say, 香蕉视频直播極K, I will use it for myself on the weekends.香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈��

The owner of a Victoria duplex, Wendy Shi, told Black Press Media the new legislation threatens her future.

香蕉视频直播淚 just feel very hurt that I purchased a legal non-conforming unit,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚 was under the impression that it香蕉视频直播檚 a promise made by the city and the province that you can continue to operate this property the way you want legally.香蕉视频直播�

Like Sharma, Shi has paid a lot of taxes and fees.

香蕉视频直播淓ventually, $2,500 licensing fee, plus $2,000 GST, plus around $5-6,000 occupancy tax.香蕉视频直播�

Combined, she said, this will be around $10,000 that will go to the province, which it already uses to fund affordable housing.

Shi is concerned about the research methodology used and the BC Hotel Association香蕉视频直播檚 research funding regarding the short-term rental market.

香蕉视频直播淚f the research is funded by the government, we might not be as angry, but we香蕉视频直播檙e also very familiar with hotels,香蕉视频直播� Shi said. 香蕉视频直播淏ecause we are the competition.香蕉视频直播�

Under the changes, people will limit short-term rentals to the host香蕉视频直播檚 principal residence and one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit. Motels and hotels will be exempt from the new law.

The law is well-intentioned, said Brendan Harris, who owns a single-bedroom Airbnb unit in Victoria.

The aim of cracking down on people who own three or four or more condos is a good thing and needs to have limitations on them, but this legislation paints people who are just trying to make a living as villains, he said.

香蕉视频直播淚 resent that local and provincial government frames me as a cheat who profiteers on others香蕉视频直播� housing misery,香蕉视频直播� Harris said. 香蕉视频直播淭his is a deep mischaracterization of the hard work we do and the service we provide.香蕉视频直播�

The problem with this legislation is it casts such a wide net, catching everything in sight, and is getting families like Harris香蕉视频直播檚 caught in the middle.

香蕉视频直播淚 agree with its intention to make B.C.香蕉视频直播檚 outrageous housing market more accessible. However, the person that ends up with our condo due to this legislation does so at my family香蕉视频直播檚 expense.香蕉视频直播�

Airbnb has meant Harris and his family can own a home, and the income received from his condo and the current law change will take this away.

香蕉视频直播淗omeownership has barely been attainable in our lifetimes. Airbnb has facilitated small business ownership for us and allowed us to own a home.香蕉视频直播�

Many think wealthy relatives handed people like Sharma the money, but the reality is that they came to Canada with nothing and had to build their income.

香蕉视频直播淢y wife and I moved to Canada in 2016-17 and came from zero,香蕉视频直播� Sharma said. 香蕉视频直播淲e started doing all sorts of chores, worked our way up, like in the last six or seven years, cutting corners, skipping meals.香蕉视频直播�

He does not understand why the law needs to change, with cities like Seattle and Portland using the same model that existed in Victoria to fund its affordable housing.

香蕉视频直播淚n cities where things like this happened, like New York, they banned the Airbnbs. People went underground and went through other routes to find short-term rentals.香蕉视频直播�

Everything with this law change feels very rushed, Sharma said, and has blurred how he sees the government.

香蕉视频直播淭he unintended consequences, what we are saying here is, we don香蕉视频直播檛 trust the lawmakers because they can change the law the very next day.香蕉视频直播�

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