Regional district surrounding Revelstoke opting into provincial STR regulation

City of Revelstoke residents won’t be included in a recent Columbia Shuswap Regional District decision over short-term rentals. Part of B.C.’s attempt to manage STRs, the regulation requires operators of STRs to live in their residence the majority of the year. 

Electoral area B will opt into the short-term rental principal residence requirement David Brooks-Hill, Columbia Shuswap Regional District electoral area B director announced in a Thursday, March 20 district regular board meeting.

This new requirement comes into effect Nov. 1, 2025 for electoral area B, including residences on Airport Way just south of Williamson lake and on Mount Begbie Road south of the Big Eddy. The area is the only one in the regional district currently opting into the principal residence requirement.

Residences located within the City of Revelstoke boundaries are not included in CSRD’s recent decision and staff are still working on what the future for STRs could look like in town, Paul Simon, director of development services told Revelstoke Mountaineer. 

Opting into the provincial regulation will shift the responsibility of monitoring and approving STRs in electoral area B to the province, freeing up staff resources Brooks-Hill explained. 

“The CSRD really does not have the staff to do this in Area B. We have tried for a long time and most people still did not obey the rules and we had little ability to enforce them.”

Despite attempts to regulate STRs through its own rules and zoning, an estimated 90 per cent of STRs in electoral areas B through G operate without appropriate zoning or Temporary Use Permits (TUP).

“I do feel badly for those who did get a TUP or zoning and now will lose the ability to run an STR but it is worth it to enforce the rules on the vast majority as I have always said I wanted to,” Brooks-Hill wrote in his report to the board.

Residents operating an STR in electoral area B have until Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 to either bring their STR into compliance with the principal residence requirement or cease operations .

Regional vs. city requirements

The CSRD is a separate jurisdiction to the City of Revelstoke. Those looking for more information about staff work on future STR plans can check out TalkRevelstoke or reach out to Simon and the development services team at [email protected].

A government system unique to B.C., regional districts act as an alternative to municipalities when populations in an area are too spread out. While regional districts can surround a municipality, they have little input on municipal affairs.

Brookes-Hill hopes  the city watches what impact the principal residence requirement has on electoral area B.

“I worry Revelstoke will spend a huge amount of money on enforcement and not be effective when they just also opt in for the above reasons,” Brooks-Hill said.

Some communities outside of the city boundaries still interact with Revelstoke’s economy, such as Arrowhead, Beaton and Trout Lake and will be required to follow the CSRD Electoral Area B decision. Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce is collecting input and recently hosted a meeting with concerned business owners to discuss strategies going forward.

“We have business owners who rely on the tourism economy to sustain their local businesses who employ locals through this sector of the visitor economy,” Caroline Lachapelle, chamber CEO wrote in a press release.