The owner of two Vancouver apartments who pleaded guilty in 2022 to illegally operating short-term rentals in both units argued unsuccessfully Tuesday with three city councillors to allow him to obtain a licence to list one of his properties again on Airbnb.
“I stand before you all with humility and profound acknowledgement of my past missteps,” he said, noting he has since studied the city’s bylaw. Chopra’s guilty pleas also came with a judge’s order that he not market or use his properties for short-term rental for at least one year. “I get we're talking over the period of maybe three or four years here — and memories can be a bit foggy in terms of timing — but I just don't think that the evidence shows that we have heard exactly what the truth and facts are to the situation.”