Short-term rental report makes 13 recommendations to the city
People who own homes in residential areas and don’t actually use them as principal residences shouldn’t be allowed to put their places up for short-term rentals, a consultant has recommended after a lengthy study on rental accommodations, including Airbnb.
The city this week released Maclaren Municipal Consulting’s final report on the regulation of short-term rental accommodations, one of the last steps in a lengthy study that will inform the municipal government’s plan on regulating the industry.
The consultant made 13 recommendations to the city, including establishing a fee-based registration system for short-term rental hosts, fining hosts up to $1,000 per day if they don’t register, allowing condo boards to exclude addresses from registering as a short-term accommodation and implementing a beefed-up enforcement regime that monitors listings.
But the most restrictive regulation proposed by Maclaren might be the one that would cut down on the number of short-term rentals, like those posted on Airbnb, in residential zones as a way to eliminate commercial hotel-like operations.
It’s now up to city management to consider the consultant’s suggestions and come up with their own recommendations for city council. The community and protective services committee is scheduled to consider a staff report on Nov. 15 before making recommendations to council. Proposed new bylaws are expected to be in front of council in early 2020.
Lobbying at city hall could heat up for the next month if people and businesses who rely on the shortterm accommodations revenue feel threatened by the prospect of municipal regulations.
Banning people from renting homes, whether it’s single-family homes or condo units, for short periods if they don’t live there could impact those who count on rental revenue to pay their mortgages and other bills.
“Airbnb is committed to working with communities like Ottawa on smart regulations that support responsible home sharing and we are currently reviewing the recommendation report,” Airbnb spokesperson Alexandra Dagg said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to working with our Ottawa host community, city council and staff through this new chapter of regulation.”
Other Canadian cities have been tackling issues involving the shortterm rental industry. Cities have been considering registration systems and licensing regimes. Calgary recently decided it would establish a business licence system.
According to the City of Ottawa, about one-third of Ottawa residents live in rental housing. The rental vacancy rate in 2018 was 1.6 per cent.
The Maclaren study estimates more than 1,000 short-term rental units could be made available for long-term lease tenants, effectively stopping investors from scooping up homes in residential areas to run “ghost hotels.” The consultant cites a study done for the city by Prism Economics and Analysis that says of the 6,278 web-platform listings in 2018, 1,236 were identified as likely commercial rentals of entire dwelling units.
The growth of short-term rentals, assisted by the web platforms, has been cited as a problem for housing affordability, since those homes are taken off the long-term rental market and instead used as hotel units.
The local hotel industry isn’t happy with the proliferation of short-term rental accommodations.
The Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association told the consultant that eliminating commercial shortterm rentals would support at least a 10 per cent increase in hotel rooms in the region. The hotel association also doesn’t like that commercial short-term rentals in residential neighbourhoods don’t pay commercial taxes, although rentals booked through Airbnb pay the municipal accommodation tax, just like hotels.
Councillors hear complaints from residents about homes or units with constant turnover attributed to short-term rentals. The complaints range from noise to garbage issues.
On the flip side, property owners who want to make additional income have been able to use platforms like Airbnb to rent out their homes or rooms for short periods.
There has been pressure on the city to enact regulations against short-term rentals, especially those that act like hotels.
Mayor Jim Watson has been in support of ideas that would cut down on ghost hotels. He said he would be reviewing the Maclaren report and the consultant’s recommendations. jwilling@postmedia.com twitter.com/JonathanWilling