The City of Victoria is going to court to permanently ban a local property management company from running short-term rentals anywhere in the city, claiming the business has been advertising and operating Airbnbs in a popular area of the downtown core without the proper licences.The Fisgard building on Yates Street is seen in Victoria on Thursday.
The filings are the latest legal fights over short-term rental laws in B.C. Amala's CEO, Angela Mason, is one of hundreds of property owners and managersThe city's court documents list four Airbnbs: a studio on Pandora Avenue, a two-bedroom condo on Herald Street and a pair of one-bedroom condos on Yates Street and Fisgard Street.
The city's court documents say Amala does not have licences for the four downtown condos — plus, the city say they are in a zoning area that doesn't allow any short-term rentals. The government says the law is meant to stop short-term rentals from "taking away homes people need." In an interview last winter, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said Airbnb property managers