Every downtown Kelowna buyer who mentions Airbnb income asks us some version of the same question: "can I actually do this in my building?" The honest answer changed materially in the last couple of years, and it's more nuanced than a flat yes or no.
The Provincial Rule: Principal Residence Requirement
Since May 1, 2024, BC's Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act has restricted most short-term rentals to a host's principal residence, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property. In plain terms: for most of the province, you generally can't buy a condo purely as a short-term rental investment and operate it as an Airbnb unless you're actually living there.
Kelowna's Exemption — and Why It's Not Blanket
Kelowna became the first BC municipality to secure an exemption from the provincial principal residence requirement, but it's narrower than "downtown Kelowna is exempt." The exemption applies specifically to buildings the City has approved for an STR subzone — restoring short-term rental use in towers that previously operated that way or were purpose-built for it. Outside of those approved buildings, the provincial principal residence requirement still applies.
That means two identical-looking downtown condos, in two different buildings, can have completely different answers to "can I Airbnb this" — one legally viable as a pure investment unit, the other restricted to owner-occupied short-term use only. The building matters more than the neighbourhood here.
Strata Consent Is a Separate Hurdle
Even in a building approved for an STR subzone, the strata corporation still has to consent to short-term rental use. Municipal zoning approval and strata bylaws are two different layers of permission, and both have to line up. A building being in an approved subzone doesn't automatically mean every strata in that building allows it — check the actual strata bylaws, not just the zoning.
Before you buy with STR income in mind: confirm the building's specific STR-subzone status with the City, confirm the strata bylaws actually permit it, and get that confirmation in writing before subject removal — not as an assumption based on what a listing agent tells you. We pull both for any downtown listing you're seriously considering as an STR play.
What This Means for Long-Term Buy-and-Hold Buyers
If your plan is a standard long-term rental rather than short-term, none of this affects you — the principal residence requirement is specific to short-term stays, not month-to-month or annual leases. This is purely a consideration for buyers specifically chasing nightly-rate income.
Tell us which building and we'll confirm its actual STR-subzone status and strata bylaws before you make an offer.