With very little notice, discussion or time for anyone to respond, Bill 44 has passed in BC which overwrites the rental bylaws, other than short term rental bylaws, held by a strata corporation. It also only allows age restrictions for 55+ and any other age restrictions are to be abolished. While there may be some positives to this announcement there is also many negatives and possible outcomes that the BC Government has not taken into consideration. The question many people are asking is why they would not spend their efforts going after short term rentals and ensuring those are opened up to long term rentals? According to CHOA (Condominium Homeowner’s Association of BC) the greatest loss of rental units in the last 10 years, is to short term rentals. Many municipalities have bylaws that prohibit short term rentals such as Air Bnb and VRBO’s but they are still happening everywhere. Many people purchase condos in buildings with rental restrictions because they prefer to live in mostly owner occupied buildings. Others purchase in buildings that allow rentals for the purpose of being able to sell to investors when the time comes. This new law could easily drive up the market value of those condos that now must allow rentals when they did not before. Investing and speculation is most likely to occur, which ultimately will drive up the cost of rent.The last several years has seen Insurance for stratas turn into a near crises situation. I guess the Government forgot about that when they passed this law. Stratas with higher rental rates have a harder time getting insurance and pay higher deductibles. Those will be passed onto the owners in the building, not just the landlords. Another thing to consider is that the Strata has no legal relationship with the tenant so if a tenant is a problem, they are not able to evict them. This strikes me as pretty unfair if the strata originally had bylaws limiting or preventing rentals. Property managers have more work when dealing with properties that have high tenancy rates. It would make sense their fees will go up – also to be passed on to the owners. As fees go up, the homeowners who live in the building will have to find a way to pay them. The landlords who have tenants will pass on the extra costs to the tenants. It will not be affordable for anyone. The passing of this law seems much like the ban on Foreign Buyers coming into effect January 1, 2023. An OPTICAL ILLUSION. The Provincial and Federal Governments want citizens to think they are tackling a problem but going about it in entirely the wrong way. They have, in one fell swoop, taken away the rights of so many homeowners in BC to CHOOSE the type of building in which they want to live. This Bill was ANNOUNCED and PASSED in less than one business week. There was no time for discussion or thought provoking questions which may have allowed them to improve upon its implementation.