An empty house in West Vancouver: three ways owners handle it
Last reviewed: September 2026.
The three options, side by side
| Left empty | Leased to a tenant | Hosted as a furnished home | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your access | Any time | Ends for the term of the tenancy | You keep the calendar and block your own dates |
| Your furniture | Stays, unused | Usually moved to storage | Stays, and is cared for |
| Who watches the home | Nobody, or a paid checker | The tenant | An operating team, after every stay |
| Income | None, costs continue | Fixed rent | A share of hosting revenue |
| Ending the arrangement | Nothing to end | Governed by BC tenancy rules | Term-based management agreement |
Option one: leave it empty
This is the default, and it is the most expensive option that looks free. An unoccupied house still costs money every month, and it deteriorates in ways an occupied house does not, because nobody is there to catch the early signs. Two questions worth asking before choosing this: ask your insurer how long the home can stand empty before your coverage changes, and ask yourself who opens the door after a windstorm.
Option two: lease it
A long-term tenancy produces steady rent and a full-time occupant. It also changes what the home is. For the length of the tenancy the house is the tenant’s home, not yours: you give up the use of it, your furniture usually goes into storage, and the tenancy is governed by BC’s residential tenancy rules, which set out how and when it can end. For owners who are certain they will not need the house, this can be the right call. For owners who come back every summer, it rarely is.
Option three: have it hosted
A hosted home stays your home. There is no lease over it. You keep the calendar, block your own dates whenever you plan to be in town, and the house is prepared, occupied by screened guests under a stay agreement, and reset to standard after every departure. The same local team runs pricing, guest service, housekeeping and maintenance for short, mid and extended stays, and prepares the licensing paperwork the District and the province ask for. On the money side the structure is simple: booking revenue is collected first, operating costs and the management fee are settled, and the balance is remitted to you monthly. There is no upfront management fee, and if the home earns nothing, there is nothing to charge.
The honest caveat: for stays under 30 days, West Vancouver generally requires the home to be a principal residence, with a District business licence and provincial registration. Whether your home qualifies, and what the right stay length is if it does not, is a licensing question we assess address by address before anything else. That assessment comes before any projection, because a number without a licence behind it is fiction.
Frequently asked questions
How long can a house sit empty before it becomes a problem?
Longer than a vacation, shorter than most owners think. Small issues in an unoccupied house go unnoticed until they surface as big ones, and many insurance policies treat an extended vacancy differently. Ask your insurer where that line is for your policy.
Can I still use my home if it is hosted?
Yes. There is no lease over your home. You keep the calendar and block your own dates whenever you want the house. Hosting fills the months you are away, not the months you are home.
Do I need a licence to host my West Vancouver home?
For stays under 30 days, yes: a District of West Vancouver business licence plus provincial registration, and the home generally must be a principal residence. We prepare and file the paperwork, and we confirm what your address qualifies for before anything is listed.
What does it cost to get started?
There is no upfront management fee. Operating costs and the management fee are settled from hosting revenue before the monthly remittance, so nothing is billed to you to begin.
I live abroad. How do I know what is happening at the house?
You receive a monthly statement, and the team that physically inspects the home after every stay is the same team you talk to. Nothing is passed through a call centre.
Is hosting better than renting to a tenant?
They are different arrangements more than competing ones. A lease trades away the use of your home for a fixed rent. Hosting keeps the home yours and pays a share of what it earns. If you never plan to use the house, compare the money. If you do, compare what each option leaves you.
See what your address could earn
The estimate at luvilla.com/estimate shows a range on screen in about a minute. Or call or text our sales team at 778-262-1180. More on how we work with owners.
Luvilla. Hospitality operations and furnished accommodation. Operating since 2017, West Vancouver and the North Shore.