Walk through Kitsilano or Mount Pleasant on a weekday morning and the Airbnb signs are largely gone from building lobbies. This visible change is real: BC’s short-term rental (STR) legislation, which reached full enforcement in May 2024 and restricted platforms like Airbnb and VRBO to principal residences, has demonstrably shrunk the active listing pool across Metro Vancouver. What remains uncertain—and what this spring’s peak season will begin to answer—is whether those deactivated units are becoming homes for long-term renters, or whether the policy’s core housing-supply promise is falling short.

That question is no longer theoretical. The April-to-June window is when STR operators historically generate the bulk of their annual revenue, and it marks the first spring with two full years of enforcement data. Regulators, investors, and housing advocates are all watching the same dashboard.

What the Deactivation Numbers Show

According to BC Ministry of Housing enforcement reports, thousands of listings have been deactivated province-wide since the principal-residence requirement took effect. Municipal data from the City of Vancouver’s business licensing division points to a substantial reduction in active STR licences, with non-compliant operators either voluntarily withdrawing or facing enforcement action.

Active listing counts tracked by short-term rental analytics platforms show a marked contraction from pre-regulation peaks, with the steepest declines concentrated in neighbourhoods that previously held the highest STR density: Kitsilano, the West End, Gastown, and Strathcona.

However, deactivation and conversion are not synonymous. Critics of the legislation, including housing researchers, argue that a meaningful share of units pulled from short-term platforms has not entered the long-term rental market. Some owners have moved back into units themselves, while others have listed properties for sale. A portion appears to have remained vacant, particularly in buildings where strata bylaws or physical configurations make long-term rental less attractive to owners accustomed to STR income.

The Ministry of Housing has not published a definitive figure on the percentage of deactivated units confirmed to have entered the long-term rental market. If that conversion rate is lower than projected, it will sharpen the debate regarding whether further regulatory tools are required.

What the Vacancy Data Is Telling Us

The clearest proxy for supply conversion is the long-term vacancy rate in formerly high-STR neighbourhoods. CMHC’s rental market data shows some vacancy rate improvement in Metro Vancouver since the restrictions took effect, though the picture varies by neighbourhood and unit type. Bachelor and one-bedroom units—the format most commonly converted from STR to long-term use—have seen the most movement.

Analysts must isolate the STR policy effect from other variables, such as a slowdown in net migration to BC in 2025, a softening ownership market that has kept would-be buyers renting longer, and the stalled rental construction pipeline. While vacancy rates are improving in some pockets, attributing that improvement cleanly to the STR crackdown requires data that is still being assembled.

The Compliant Operator’s View: Nightly Rates Are Climbing

For operators who complied—those running licensed principal-residence units—the tighter supply environment has translated into stronger pricing power. Industry groups have noted that average nightly rates for compliant Vancouver listings have risen year-over-year, with spring 2026 bookings tracking above the same period in 2025.

This creates a bifurcated market. Operators who navigated the transition—typically owner-occupiers with a spare room or a lock-off suite—are earning more per booking than they did when the market was crowded with investor-owned units. For this cohort, the regulation has functioned as a market-clearing mechanism in their favour.

The economics are less straightforward for investors who owned dedicated STR units and were forced to choose between long-term rental and sale. Long-term rents in Vancouver, while high by national standards, rarely match the gross revenue potential of a well-located short-term unit in peak season.

The Regulatory Calculus

BC Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon has indicated the province will monitor conversion outcomes and is prepared to consider additional measures if the data shows the principal-residence requirement is not generating the anticipated supply impact. The spring 2026 enforcement cycle—including updated registry data, municipal licence counts, and the latest CMHC Housing Market Outlook—will provide the province’s clearest read yet.

Two scenarios are in play. If vacancy rates in high-STR neighbourhoods have moved meaningfully and conversion rates track toward policy projections, the current framework will likely hold. If the data shows a significant share of deactivated units are not entering long-term rental stock, pressure will build for additional tools, potentially including stricter penalties for vacancy, expanded enforcement capacity, or changes to how strata corporations can restrict rental activity.

The Bottom Line

BC’s short-term rental restrictions have unambiguously shrunk the active listing pool in Metro Vancouver. Whether that contraction is translating into meaningful long-term rental supply is the question that spring 2026 will begin to answer. Compliant operators are benefiting from tighter supply, and long-term renters are seeing some vacancy improvement. However, if the conversion gap is confirmed at scale, it will almost certainly invite a second wave of regulatory tightening. Watch for the Ministry of Housing’s next enforcement report and CMHC’s upcoming data; those documents will determine whether this policy is working as designed or if the next chapter of BC’s STR story is still being written.