As of last week, as per Bill 44, all strata properties, be it a condo, townhouse, or bare land strata home, are fully rentable. Any rental restrictions that were in place are now unenforceable. The only restriction that strata properties can make is a bylaw restricting short term rentals (Airbnb-type rentals).
When the news first came out, the rumour circulated that strata homes that have 55+ age restrictions can enforce rental restrictions, but that is NOT true: ALL strata properties now must allow rentals.
The other major change is that all age restriction bylaws are unenforceable, except buildings that have or are adopting a 55+ age restriction. The 55+ age restriction means that one or more people who RESIDE in the residence (be it owner or tenant) must be 55+. The strata owners have the option to pass a bylaw specifying if one or all residents in a unit need to be 55+. Note that an owner of a strata unit in this building can be any age, but whoever RESIDES in the unit needs to be 55+.
This is a big legislative change, and there are many questions that have come up and many answers are not clear yet. Do reach out to me with your questions, and note I may have to refer you to a lawyer who is an expert in strata law. The main takeaway is that it doesn’t matter if your current bylaws state that your strata has a 19+ or 40+ age restriction, or limits the number of rentals in the building to, let’s say, 5 units at a time; these bylaws are now unenforceable: All strata properties are fully rentable, and only the 55+ age restriction for residents is enforceable if there is a 55+ bylaw. Some buildings are apparently quickly adopting this age restriction as a new bylaw, lawyers have been busy this past week.
Victoria Real Estate Board Market Report for November 2022
| November 2022 | November 2021 | |
| Net unconditional sales | 384 | 653 |
| New listings | 785 | 696 |
| Total active listings | 2,111 | 887 |
A total of 384 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this November, 41.2 per cent fewer than the 653 properties sold in November 2021 and 20 per cent fewer than in October 2022. Sales of condominiums were down 42.4 per cent from November 2021 with 136 units sold. Sales of single family homes decreased 34.1 per cent from November 2021 with 182 sold.
“November saw a significant decrease from last year in the number of home sales recorded, but this was expected as the market continues to settle after the record setting pace of 2021,” says Victoria Real Estate Board President Karen Dinnie-Smyth. “With a small month over month decrease in price, the autumn market has returned to its traditional rhythm as we approach the holiday season. Inventory levels dipped slightly but remain well above this time last year, which is providing buyers with more options.”
There were 2,111 active listings for sale on the Victoria Real Estate Board Multiple Listing Service® at the end of November 2022, a decrease of 3.7 per cent compared to the previous month of October but a 138 per cent increase from the 887 active listings for sale at the end of November 2021.
“Premier Eby’s rapid introduction of changes to the Strata Property Act which remove rental restrictions and age restrictions other than 55 and older from strata developments is raising questions within strata communities. It remains to be seen what effect this may have on the strata market,” adds President Dinnie-Smyth. “It is an open question whether these changes will bring any additional rental stock to the market – with BC’s complex Residential Tenancy Act not all homeowners of vacant strata homes have a desire to become landlords and current interest rates are less attractive to investors who may want to purchase strata rental properties. It is also possible that these measures will contribute further to eroding housing affordability as older stratas with rental restrictions were generally valued lower than their rentable counterparts.”
The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core in November 2021 was $1,249,400. The benchmark value for the same home in November 2022 increased by 4.6 per cent to $1,307,100 but was down 2.6 per cent from October’s value of $1,341,400. The MLS® HPI benchmark value for a condominium in the Victoria Core area in November 2021 was $536,200, while the benchmark value for the same condominium in November 2022 increased by 9.6 per cent to $587,800, down by 2.5 per cent from the October value of $602,700.