If you are going to rent a home on Salt Spring Island or for people currently renting Salt Spring properties, there are a few places to look for Salt Spring rental information. - The Driftwood classified ads.
- The Islands Marketplace free classified ads.
The Salt Spring rental market is tight in the summer months. A lot of the rental places are not legal rentals and go against local zoning. However, with the shortage of affordable housing on Salt Spring, the Island Trust usually only responds on a complaint basis. There is no guarantee that if you buy a place with an illegal suite in it you will be allowed to rent it out. The city of Vancouver legalized all secondary suites last year. In time the local governments in BC may see this as the only viable alternative to the affordable housing crisis. If you are renting on Salt Spring you have rights and if you are buying a home on Salt Spring with a rental suit you have rights. Don't get the rental information second hand read... you need to read the BC Residential Tenancy Act. It covers every part of renting a house. The BC Residential Tenancy Branch provides landlords and tenants with information and dispute resolution services. Go to their site here. Try out my finance calculator if you are thinking of buying on Salt Spring. If you are not looking to purchase a revenue property and there is a tenant in place then are specific steps which must be followed to get vacant possession of the house. It is illegal to rent a house as a vacation rental on Salt Spring. A vacation rental is a rental of less than 30 days. Read all about it here. The Islands Trust is going to make a ruling on full time rentals of seasonal cottages in the future so stay tuned. Scott Simmons |