Proposed guidelines being put forward at city hall to regulate short-term rental services like Airbnb suggest targeting people who rent out income properties on a short-term basis.
The draft guidelines are contained in a staff report set to go before the city’s executive committee next week and made public Monday.
In the report, city staff suggest prohibiting short-term rentals – defined as 28 days or less – in homes or units that are not being used as a primary residence.
In other words, people renting out their own homes on a short-term basis would still be able to do so. However those who own income properties would not be able to run those secondary properties as de facto hotels.
Other proposals contained in the report include licensing companies that facilitate short-term rentals, like Airbnb, and creating a registry for anyone who operates a short-term rental in their home.
Companies like Airbnb would have to pay a licensing fee and issue quarterly reports to the city with anonymous data about short-term rental activities. Operators would have to register their principle residences and pay a registration fee to rent out their homes on a short-term basis.
Speaking with reporters at city hall, Mayor John Tory said the proposals seek to strike a balance between respecting existing homes and businesses in neighbourhoods while acknowledging the reality of new technologies that people use.
“The sharing economy and companies like Airbnb have great economic potential for our city and great benefits for residents and visitors to the city,” Tory said. “But the potential impacts of short term rentals on our neighbourhgoods, on our housing affordability, on existing industries and on availability of housing must be carefully considered.”
The proposed strictures are part of a raft of measures aimed at increasing the city’s available housing supply for those who live here.
According to the city, Airbnb listed approximately 10,800 properties in Toronto in 2016. Under the proposed regulations, 3,200 of those properties would not be permitted because they are not in a principal residence.
Responding to the report, a coalition of Canadian groups pushing for tougher regulation of short-term housing rentals called the proposals “a big step forward.”
“I think they’re very fair, very sensible,” Fairbnb spokesperson Thorben Wieditz told CP24. “They help Airbnb return to its home-sharing roots. They cut out the commercial operators and a lot of the proposed regulations are in line with what we have publicly been asking for.”
In a statement, Airbnb spokesperson Alexandra Dagg said the company welcomes the report and is reviewing it in detail to provide feedback to the city’s executive committee.
“The vast majority of Airbnb hosts in Toronto use home sharing to help pay the bills and afford to stay in their homes. Airbnb is transforming travel by allowing people to experience cities like a local and support neighbourhood businesses,” Dagg said. “Airbnb continues to recommend fair, easy-to-follow rules that support home sharing and respect our responsible host community.”
The report is not final and the guidelines still need to be put to the public for consultation. A final report on proposed regulations for short-term rentals is expected to go before city council sometime in the fall.
