--- title: Port Alice short-term rental rules (Airbnb, Vrbo) question: "Can I rent out my home or a room on Airbnb in Port Alice?" place: Port Alice, British Columbia, Canada place_path: ca/bc/port-alice category: Housing and renting owner: municipal owner_body: Village of Port Alice sources_read: 2026-11-08 review: machine_checked canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-alice/short-term-rental/" json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-alice/short-term-rental.json" --- # Port Alice short-term rental rules (Airbnb, Vrbo) **Question:** Can I rent out my home or a room on Airbnb in Port Alice? **Short answer:** In Port Alice the Official Community Plan lists smaller scale tourist accommodations as a complementary use in R1 Residential - Detached areas and says a development permit should be required. Zoning rules could not be read. Each unit also needs a provincial registration number. **Who handles it:** Municipal (Village of Port Alice, https://portalice.ca) **Cost:** Not stated; see below for business licence classes. **How long:** Not stated. **Where:** - Phone: Village office, 250-284-3391 - Email: Village office email, info@portalice.ca - In person: Municipal Hall, 1061 Marine Drive, Port Alice, BC V0N 2N0 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) ## Key facts - **Allowed:** The OCP lists "smaller scale tourist accommodations" as a complementary use in R1 Residential - Detached areas, and says the Village should set a short-term tourist accommodation policy and require a development permit for all short-term tourist accommodation. Zoning rules were not readable. - Source: [Official Community Plan (PDF, July 2023 version), OCP s. 4.4.1, 5.11.13](https://portalice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Port-Alice-OCP-Draft-v4.1-July10_2023.pdf) - Official wording: "smaller scale tourist accommodations" … "The Village shall require a development permit for all short-term tourist accommodation" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Business licence:** The fee bylaw has a "Rental units/spaces" business licence class for buildings containing rental units for residential or accommodation purposes: up to 10 units $50 a year, up to 20 units $100, up to 30 units $200, over 30 units $400. It does not say this class covers short-term rentals. - Source: [Rates and Fees Bylaw No. 695-2025, Schedule F](https://portalice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/695-Fees-and-Charges-Bylaw-for-2025.pdf) - Official wording: "Rental units/spaces" … "Any building containing rental" … "Up to 10 units $50.00" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Provincial registration:** The Province's page says each short-term rental unit requires its own registration number. Port Alice is on the Province's list of exempt communities from the principal residence requirement, which concerns where hosts may operate, not registration. - Source: [Principal residence requirement, Province of BC, Principal residence requirement and registration fees](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/principal-residence-requirement) - Official wording: "Each short-term rental unit requires its own registration number." … "Communities exempt from the provincial principal residence requirement:" … "Peachland Port Alice Port Clements" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Operating rules:** Not confirmed. Port Alice's Zoning Bylaw and Business Licence Bylaw are scanned and could not be read. - **Fine:** Not confirmed. Port Alice's Zoning Bylaw and Business Licence Bylaw are scanned and could not be read. - **Bylaw:** Port Alice Zoning Bylaw No. 688; Business Licence Bylaw No. 496; Rates & Fees Bylaw No. 695-2025 - Source: [Bylaws library, Bylaws library page](https://portalice.ca/town-hall/bylaws/) - Official wording: "688 Port Alice Zoning Bylaw" … "496 Business License Bylaw" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 ## How it works The Village of Port Alice's Official Community Plan lists "smaller scale tourist accommodations" as a complementary use in R1 Residential - Detached areas. It also says the Village should set a short-term tourist accommodation policy and require a development permit for all short-term tourist accommodation. The Zoning Bylaw No. 688 is a scanned PDF that could not be read, so no zoning rule is confirmed. The Rates and Fees Bylaw has a "Rental units/spaces" business licence class for buildings containing rental units for residential or accommodation purposes: up to 10 units $50 a year, up to 20 units $100, up to 30 units $200, over 30 units $400. It does not say this class covers short-term rentals. ## Steps 1. Phone the Village office at 250-284-3391 to ask whether your zone allows short-term rental and whether a development permit or business licence is needed. 2. Register with the Province; see below. ## Good to know - The Province says each short-term rental unit requires its own registration number; confirm details on its [short-term rental page](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/principal-residence-requirement). - Port Alice is on the Province's list of exempt communities, so the provincial principal residence requirement does not apply here. That concerns where hosts may operate, not registration. - The sources state no operating rules or fines for short-term rentals; ask the Village. ## Official forms and pages - [Official Community Plan (PDF, July 2023 version), Village of Port Alice](https://portalice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Port-Alice-OCP-Draft-v4.1-July10_2023.pdf) - [Principal residence requirement, Province of BC](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/principal-residence-requirement) - [Rates and Fees Bylaw No. 695-2025 (PDF), Village of Port Alice](https://portalice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/695-Fees-and-Charges-Bylaw-for-2025.pdf) ## Related questions - [Port Alice business licences: who needs one, fees and how to apply](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-alice/business-licence.md) - [Port Alice home-based business rules](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-alice/home-based-business.md) - [Port Alice zoning: find your zone and what it allows](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-alice/zoning-lookup.md) ## The same question elsewhere - [Short-term rental rules in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/short-term-rental.md) - [Port Hardy](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-hardy/short-term-rental.md) - [Port McNeill](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-mcneill/short-term-rental.md) - [Tahsis](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/tahsis/short-term-rental.md) - [Sayward](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/sayward/short-term-rental.md) - [Gold River](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/gold-river/short-term-rental.md) - [Campbell River](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/campbell-river/short-term-rental.md) ## Sources - [Official Community Plan (PDF, July 2023 version), Village of Port Alice](https://portalice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Port-Alice-OCP-Draft-v4.1-July10_2023.pdf) (read 2026-11-08) - [Rates and Fees Bylaw No. 695-2025 (PDF), Village of Port Alice](https://portalice.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/695-Fees-and-Charges-Bylaw-for-2025.pdf) (read 2026-11-08) - [Principal residence requirement, Province of BC](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/principal-residence-requirement) (read 2026-11-08) - [Bylaws library, Village of Port Alice](https://portalice.ca/town-hall/bylaws/) (read 2026-11-08) - [Contact, Village of Port Alice](https://portalice.ca/contact/) (read 2026-11-08) _Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 4 of 6 facts was matched to the official text; 2 could not be confirmed. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with Village of Port Alice. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-alice/short-term-rental/_