Burnaby and Richmond Airbnb rules: why a Vancouver checklist is not enough

Burnaby: the operating model matters

Burnaby requires a business licence and describes a framework for homeowners’ principal residences. Its city guidance restricts short-term rentals in rental units, secondary suites and accessory buildings. It distinguishes up to 90 days per year in the principal-residence framework from up to 28 nights for renting the entire home while absent.

Treat those annual limits as a constraint on a scenario, not a guaranteed allocation of bookings. Confirm the current bylaw and the proposed arrangement before applying; a provincial allowance for a qualifying secondary unit does not settle Burnaby eligibility.

Source basis: City of Burnaby: short-term rentals

Richmond: investigate the licence route first

Richmond describes short-term rentals as paid stays in part of a dwelling for less than 90 consecutive days. It offers two licensing options depending on the property. Its bed-and-breakfast route requires a single detached house and a resident operator meeting its ownership or family-operation criteria; apartments, duplexes and townhomes do not qualify for that B&B route.

Those are route-specific requirements, not a claim that every property can use the other route. Start with the City’s current criteria and ask the licensing team which, if any, category fits the address and intended operation.

Source basis: City of Richmond: short-term residential rentals

A comparison method an investor can use

Create a separate row for each prospective property: jurisdiction, legal unit, owner or tenant operator, licence category, occupied or absent hosting, annual operating limits and written permissions. Leave unresolved cells clearly marked rather than filling them with another city’s answer.

For a hypothetical home with a limited number of permitted hosting nights, start the income model with that constraint. Then apply your own occupancy and cost assumptions. Do not begin with 365 nights and hope a licence makes the model work.

Implications for managers and tenants

A regional portfolio needs municipality-specific onboarding records. A manager should not reuse the same eligibility promise across Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond. Tenants considering hosting need to check both municipal eligibility and the permissions attached to their tenancy.

If you are comparing Surrey, New Westminster, the North Shore, Langley or a regional-district address, use that jurisdiction’s official material. This edition deliberately does not label those places eligible or ineligible without an address-specific source review.