{"title":"Stewart short-term rental rules (Airbnb, Vrbo)","question":"Can I rent out my home or a room on Airbnb in Stewart?","slug":"short-term-rental","place":{"path":"ca/bc/stewart","name":"Stewart","region":{"code":"bc","name":"British Columbia"},"country":{"code":"ca","name":"Canada"}},"category":{"slug":"housing-and-renting","name":"Housing and renting"},"owner":"municipal","owner_label":"Municipal","owner_body":{"name":"District of Stewart","url":"https://districtofstewart.com"},"short_answer":"Stewart allows bed and breakfast in the R1 and R2 zones, with limits. No separate rule for renting a whole home short term was found. The provincial principal residence requirement does not apply in Stewart.","aliases":["airbnb stewart bc","short term rental stewart","bed and breakfast stewart","vacation rental district of stewart"],"cost":"No short-term rental licence or fee was found. Business licence fees vary; see the business-licence answer.","how_long":"Not stated.","where":[{"type":"in_person","label":"District office","value":"705 Brightwell Street, Stewart, BC","note":"Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m."},{"type":"phone","label":"District office","value":"250-636-2251"},{"type":"email","label":"Clerk","value":"clerk@districtofstewart.com"},{"type":"email","label":"CAO","value":"cao@districtofstewart.com"}],"documents":[],"forms":[{"title":"Zoning Bylaw No. 881, 2014 (PDF)","url":"https://districtofstewart.civicweb.net/document/928/"},{"title":"Principal residence requirement, Province of BC","url":"https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/principal-residence-requirement"}],"related":[{"slug":"business-licence","title":"Stewart business licences: who needs one, fees and how to apply","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/stewart/business-licence/"},{"slug":"home-based-business","title":"Stewart home-based business rules","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/stewart/home-based-business/"},{"slug":"secondary-suite","title":"Stewart secondary suite and carriage house rules","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/stewart/secondary-suite/"},{"slug":"zoning-lookup","title":"Stewart zoning: find your zone and what it allows","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/stewart/zoning-lookup/"}],"nearby":[{"place":"ca/bc/hazelton","name":"Hazelton","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/hazelton/short-term-rental/"},{"place":"ca/bc/new-hazelton","name":"New Hazelton","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/new-hazelton/short-term-rental/"},{"place":"ca/bc/terrace","name":"Terrace","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/terrace/short-term-rental/"},{"place":"ca/bc/prince-rupert","name":"Prince Rupert","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-rupert/short-term-rental/"},{"place":"ca/bc/port-edward","name":"Port Edward","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-edward/short-term-rental/"},{"place":"ca/bc/smithers","name":"Smithers","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/smithers/short-term-rental/"}],"topic":{"title":"Short-term rental rules in British Columbia, by municipality","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/short-term-rental/"},"facts":{"allowed":{"label":"Allowed","value":"Bed and breakfast is a permitted use in the R1 and R2 zones. No separate short-term rental (whole-home) rule was found.","short":"B&B allowed in R1 and R2; no whole-home rule found","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://districtofstewart.civicweb.net/document/928/","title":"Zoning Bylaw No. 881, 2014 (PDF)","section":"s. 5.1 and 6.1","quotes":["The following uses and no others are permitted in the R1 zone:","Bed and breakfast;"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-08"}},"licence":{"label":"Business licence","value":null,"status":"unknown","reason":"not_found","sources":[]},"provincial_registration":{"label":"Provincial registration","value":"Stewart is on the Province's list of exempt communities, so the provincial principal residence requirement does not apply (list as of June 1, 2026).","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/principal-residence-requirement","title":"Short-term rental principal residence requirement, Province of BC","section":"List of exempt communities","quotes":["Communities exempt from the provincial principal residence requirement:","Spallumcheen Stewart Sun Peaks"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-08"}},"rules":{"label":"Operating rules","value":"Bed and breakfast: no guest for more than 28 consecutive days; wholly within the dwelling unit; no more than 3 guestrooms; breakfast the only meal served; one parking space per guestroom in addition to those required for the house; no cooking facilities in bedrooms; must not alter the residential character.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://districtofstewart.civicweb.net/document/928/","title":"Zoning Bylaw No. 881, 2014 (PDF)","section":"s. 3.55 to 3.62","quotes":["A bed and breakfast shall not accommodate any guest for more than 28 consecutive days.","The maximum number of guestrooms permitted in a bed and breakfast is 3 (three).","Breakfast shall be the only meal served to guests in a bed and breakfast.","The bedrooms within a bed and breakfast shall not contain any cooking facilities."]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-08"}},"fine":{"label":"Fine","value":null,"status":"unknown","reason":"not_found","sources":[]},"bylaw":{"label":"Bylaw","value":"Zoning Bylaw No. 881, 2014 (bed and breakfast, s. 3.55 to 3.62)","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://districtofstewart.com/business-resources/developing-in-the-district/building-permits","title":"Building Permits | District of Stewart","section":"Building Permits page","quotes":["Zoning Bylaw 881, 2014"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-08"}}},"facts_summary":{"total":6,"stated":4,"matched":4,"none":0,"unknown":2},"body_markdown":"## How it works\n\nThe District of Stewart has no separate short-term rental rule that we could find. Bed and breakfast is a permitted use in the R1 and R2 zones under [Zoning Bylaw No. 881](https://districtofstewart.civicweb.net/document/928/). A bed and breakfast:\n\n- may have no guest for more than 28 consecutive days\n- must be wholly within the dwelling unit and have no more than 3 guestrooms\n- may serve breakfast only\n- needs one parking space per guestroom, in addition to those required for the house\n- may have no cooking facilities in bedrooms\n- must not alter the residential character\n\nDetached and secondary suites must be rented for periods of not less than one month ([Bylaw 1023, 2024](https://districtofstewart.civicweb.net/document/32025/)), so they cannot be used for nightly stays.\n\n## Steps\n\n1. Confirm your zone using the zoning-lookup answer.\n2. Call the District office at 250-636-2251 to ask whether your rental needs a business licence and how it is treated.\n3. If it is allowed, see the business-licence answer.\n\n## Good to know\n\n- Stewart is on the Province's list of communities exempt from the provincial principal residence requirement (list as of June 1, 2026). Check the [Province's page](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/principal-residence-requirement) for the current list.\n- No short-term rental licence or fine was found in the District's materials.","sources":[{"url":"https://districtofstewart.civicweb.net/document/928/","title":"Zoning Bylaw No. 881, 2014 (PDF)","accessed":"2026-11-08"},{"url":"https://districtofstewart.civicweb.net/document/32025/","title":"Zoning Amending Bylaw No. 1023, 2024 (PDF)","accessed":"2026-11-08"},{"url":"https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/short-term-rentals/principal-residence-requirement","title":"Short-term rental principal residence requirement, Province of BC","accessed":"2026-11-08"},{"url":"https://districtofstewart.com/business-resources/business-licensing","title":"Business Licensing, District of Stewart","accessed":"2026-11-08"},{"url":"https://districtofstewart.com/business-resources/developing-in-the-district/building-permits","title":"Building Permits | District of Stewart","accessed":"2026-11-08"}],"sources_read":"2026-11-08","review":{"status":"machine_checked","badge":"Checked against official text","label":"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."},"urls":{"html":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/stewart/short-term-rental/","markdown":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/stewart/short-term-rental.md","json":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/stewart/short-term-rental.json"}}