Short-term rental rules in Lake Country, BC
Photo: Hall Cassie Marshall Group, full caption
The Okanagan Lake shore below Tyndall Bench, Lake Country, from the air. Photograph: Hall Cassie Marshall Group.
A lake house that pays for itself on Airbnb is the first thing many buyers ask about. In Lake Country the answer is narrow: the province and the District both limit short-term rentals to a host's own home.
In short
- A Lake Country home can be a short-term rental only as your principal residence, and only inside the home you live in.
- The District's short-term rental licence costs a $100 application fee, then $350 a year.
- A strata can limit or ban short-term rentals by a three-quarter vote, with fines of up to $1,000 a day.
Sources read . Source links accompany the answers below.
Can I buy a home in Lake Country and rent it out short term?
Only as your principal residence. Lake Country is on the province's list of communities where the principal residence requirement applies.
The District's own rule is stricter than the province's: the rental must be inside the home you live in, not in a suite or accessory dwelling separate from it.
A second home, a cottage or an investment property cannot be a short-term rental in Lake Country.1
What does the District of Lake Country require?
A District business licence for every short-term vacation rental: a $100 non-refundable application fee, then $350 a year for the licence. On 1 May 2024 the District had licensed 128 of them.
The home must be occupied by its principal resident for most of the year, and the rental must be within the primary residence, not in a separate trailer, motorhome, garage, cabana or shop.
The property must be in an allowable zone, rent no more than four sleeping units at a time, and give every guest parking on the property.2
Is Kelowna the same?
No. Kelowna opted out of the provincial principal residence requirement from 1 June 2026, so its own bylaws decide, and they keep the requirement in most residential areas.
Lake Country's rules end at the District boundary.3
What if the home is in a strata?
A strata corporation can limit or ban short-term rentals by a bylaw passed with a three-quarter vote, and its bylaws can be stricter than the provincial rules.
The fine for breaking such a bylaw can be up to $1,000 a day. Read the bylaws before you buy.4
Sources
- Province of British Columbia, short-term rental principal residence requirement; District of Lake Country, business licence requirement for short-term vacation rentals, 1 May 2024.
- District of Lake Country, business licence requirement for short-term vacation rentals, 1 May 2024.
- Province of British Columbia, BC Gov News, Kelowna opts out of the principal residence requirement, 17 April 2026.
- Province of British Columbia, strata short-term rental bylaws.
- District of Lake Country, Business licencing.
Rules as published by the Province of British Columbia and the District of Lake Country, read 22 September 2026. Confirm with the District before you buy for rental income.
If your question is not answered here, ask me.
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