Phase 1 & Phase 2 Rental Covenants

A Brief Explanation of What Each Means in Whistler Real Estate

History of Whistler Rental Covenants

In late 1970s when Whistler was envisioned as a year-round destination resort, the planners and policymakers were concerned that development projects in key tourist areas would be sold off to individual owners and, without any oversight, these property owners could potentially hold onto their units for personal use only.

The net result would be a limited supply of “warm beds” to rent to destination visitors and would be disastrous for retail and service business establishing themselves in Whistler Village and throughout the community.

The solution they came up with was to register a rental covenant on Resort Lands properties.  A Whistler rental covenant is a covenant placed on title of a property by the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) at the time of development, which outlines restrictions around owner usage and rental pool requirements when the property is not in use by the owner.

Additionally, Tourism Whistler (formerly know as The Whistler Resort Association) was created to market Whistler to the world. A considerable percentage of Tourism Whistler’s funding would come from fees assessed to owners of Resort Lands properties who benefited from Tourism Whistler’s marketing activities.

Phase 1 Rental Covenant

Phase 1 Whistler rental covenants are intended to maximize occupancy of properties for use by owners and visitors and allow for unlimited owner usage. However, when not in use by the owner, the covenants may require the accommodation units to be made available to the public through a rental pool. Phase 1 covenant properties are well suited to owners who looking to use their properties on a regular basis and also want the option of using short term rentals for income generation.

Phase 1 Rental Covenants can be:

Non-Restrictive: Allows unlimited owner usage but does not require that the unit be placed in a rental pool when not in use by the owner. Non-restrictive Phase 1 properties will be assessed as a Lodging Resort Lot if used for commercial purposes. However, if the unit is available for rent to the public for 14 nights or less cumulatively in a calendar year, the Member can submit a Use Declaration Form (See PDF* details below) declaring non-commercial use and upon approval will be assessed as a Residential Resort Lot Tourism Whistler Member property.

Restrictive: Allows unlimited owner usage and requires that the unit be placed in a rental pool when not in use by the owner. These properties are always assessed as a Lodging Resort Lot. Tourism Whistler Member property designations in this category include:

• Phase 1 Town Centre: Properties located wholly or partly within in the ‘Town Centre’ with a Phase 1 rental covenant, which allows unlimited owner usage; however, when the property is not in use by the owner, it must be placed in a rental pool.

Phase 2 Rental Covenant

Phase 2 covenants allow owners to use their units 56 days per year: 28 days during the winter and 28 days during the summer.

Phase 2 Whistler rental covenants require that all units must be available for commercial rental to the public at all times except for during the limited owner use. The property must be listed in a single, integrated rental pool, as selected by the strata owners.

Phase 2 covenants are always Restrictive and assessed as a Lodging Resort Lot. A few examples of Phase 2 covenant properties include: Delta Whistler Village Suites, The Whistler Westin, Cascade Lodge, Whistler Four Seasons Hotel and the Pan Pacific Hotel.

Phase 2 covenant properties are better suited to investors whose primary goal is not to maximize the number of days then spend in Whistler over the course of the year.

For more in-depth information about Tourism Whistler and how Tourism Whistler calculates membership fees check out this link https://content.whistler.com/general/documents-public/about-tourism-whistler.pdf