Some members of Burnaby council have instructed senior staff to revise their recommendations regarding short-term rentals.

Last week, the Straight reported that the city's planning director, Ed Kozak, and community services director Dave Critchley had drawn up a range of measures to regulate homeowners and tenants who offer accommodation for fewer than 30 nights at a time.

If the staff members' recommendations are eventually approved by council, hosts will need to obtain municipal licences and pay fees on a cost-recovery model.

At this week's planning and development committee, the elected members asked Kozak and Critchley to amend their plan to remove a recommendation that tenants could rent part or all of their principal residence on a short-term basis. Only homeowners would be permitted to do this.

In addition, the committee wants the plan to cap rental of an entire residence at 28 days per year and limit rental of part of a home to 90 nights per year.

That's not all.

Kozak and Critchley suggested a maximum of four unrelated people or six related people at any time in a short-term rental. The committee members would like further clarification of what constitutes a "family" of six.

The report, "Regulatory and Enforcement Framework for Short Term Rentals in Burnaby", will come back to the committee on June 23.

Burnaby is the third-largest municipality in the region, based on population. The two largest, Vancouver and Surrey, as well as the fourth- and fifth-largest, Richmond and Coquitlam, already regulate short-term rentals and bed and breakfast operations.

Annual fees in those cities range from $49 to $162 per year, according to the Burnaby staff report.

Burnaby's planning and development committee is chaired by Coun. Pietro Calendino and includes councillors Sav Dhaliwal, Joe Keithley, Paul McDonell, and James Wang.