“There’s lots of positives to the sharing economy but it is creating other complications and we need to figure out how to regulate that,” he added.

A booming economy, foreign investors and other factors have sent house prices soaring in Vancouver. The most recent Canadian Real Estate Association index price for a typical home in the Vancouver area was just over one million Canadian dollars in October.

But slightly over half the city’s households lived in rented accommodation, which developers have largely ignored in favor of condominiums. The city estimates its currency vacancy rate at 0.8 percent and Vancouver has some of the highest rents in Canada. That is increasingly making it difficult for people in lower-paying jobs to live within the city and for some employers to find workers.

At the same time, the city’s popularity as a tourist destination, and generally high prices for conventional hotel rooms, have made it a thriving market for short-term rentals, the overwhelming majority of which, the city believes, are offered through Airbnb.

The city estimates that 27 to 39 percent of places being rented through Airbnb are not people’s homes.

Alex Dagg, the public policy manager for Airbnb in Canada, said the company would continue to push Vancouver to allow homeowners to rent secondary suites — separate units within an individual’s primary residence.

“We really think it’s going too far,” Ms. Dagg said from Toronto before making a presentation to a City Council committee.