Short term, high density: Maple Ridge backs proposed rental plan

High-density homes will qualify as short-term rentals in Maple Ridge, should the recently proposed framework be given the final green light by council. 

Triplexes and fourplexes were added by staff to city-wide, short-term regulations at a council workshop meeting Tuesday morning. 

The style of housing — residential homes with three and four separate living units — was left off the initial framework first presented to council in January 2024. 

However, the change was made to accommodate the expected growth of small-scale, multi-unit housing (SSMUH) in Maple Ridge. Last year, staff projected that up to 14,000 lots in the city could become new fourplexes. The SSMUH regulations were mandated by the province last year to increase the supply of housing in B.C. 

It’s also a move that some believe may alleviate short-term accommodation concerns in Maple Ridge. 

Coun. Ahmed Yousef supported the proposed new framework. But he wondered if the minimum lot size — 371 square metres, or about 4,000 square feet — would impede residents from registering under the program. The proposed minimum is larger than provincial regulations. 

“I wonder if staff would be open to dialing it down a bit,” he said. “So as to enable more of it to come online, realizing we don’t have hotels, we don’t have alternate accommodations in the community.” 

Ahead of last year’s BC Summer Games, which drew over 3,100 athletes to town, city staff said a limited number of hotel rooms and short-term rentals would lead visitors to stay in neighbouring communities.  

A 2021 hotel feasibility study found one hotel and three licenced bed and breakfasts in the city — yet there was a growing number of unlicenced short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. That same year, there were 134 active short-term accommodations. 

Last year, the province cracked down on short-term rentals, mandating the properties be an individual’s primary residence and include a business licence number. The measure led to a decrease in listings, according to a September 2024 study. 

There are a lot of properties in the community that meet the 371 square metre lot requirement, and fit the city’s regulations, according to staff, who expressed willingness to remove or adopt the lot size requirement in future years. 

Mayor Dan Ruimy backed the idea of a minimum lot size. 

It’s a guideline that makes it feel like a purpose-built building that includes parking and occupancy requirements. Although he recognized Yousef’s concerns, he expressed reservations on reducing the size requirement any further. 

“If you relax it too much, the fear I have is now you’re going to have eight people going into a 200 [square metre] lot size,” he said. “That could be a detriment to the community.” 

The framework currently restricts the rentals to a maximum of six people who can stay for up to 30 days. 

The guest maximum looked too restrictive to Coun. Jenny Tan, considering the housing needs for larger groups of people like sports teams travelling to Maple Ridge for a tournament. “If there’s a whole house that’s up on Airbnb, for example and they have four bedrooms, having the six guest limit, it seemed a bit low to me,” she said. 

The guest limit was heavily influenced by occupancy limits under building code requirements, according to staff, though they did suggest the city may have some wiggle room to increase that number to eight. 

Ultimately, Coun. Judy Dueck said the city should be conservative when it comes to designing the first batch of short-term rental requirements, as the measures can always be adjusted later. Dueck would like to see the framework reviewed annually. 

“It’s always best to be a little cautious at first,” she said. “If after a few applications we’re finding out people are saying, ‘I have a five-bedroom house, only two of us live in the residence, why couldn’t we have eight?’ Perhaps we could look at that.” 

Any short-term rental must also be the owner’s primary place of residence and include one off-street parking space per listing, among other requirements. All owners must apply for a business licence and include a fire safety plan. 

The short-term accommodations will be prohibited in homes that also run childcare or daycare services. 

Maple Ridge council unanimously approved a motion to prepare a zoning amendment bylaw to regulate short-term rentals. 

The decision comes six years after the city first started looking at the growing prevalence of short-term rentals ahead of the 2020 BC Summer Games, which were ultimately postponed to 2024. 

A 2023 city-led survey of 141 people found a majority supported short-term rentals in detached homes, secondary suites, duplexes or garden suites. However, 32 per cent of people were opposed to allowing the same accommodations in townhomes or apartments, compared to the 26 and 17 per cent that were in favour. 

Staff will now report back to council with a zoning amendment bylaw at a future date.