Anne Bucher  |  September 24, 2020

Category: Fees

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Woman handing keys to renter regarding the short-term rental bylaws in Toronto

The City of Toronto has implemented a new online registration system for people who rent their homes on a short-term basis for less than 28 consecutive days.

Under this new policy, that began on Sept. 10, people who rent their homes on a short-term basis must be registered online by Dec. 31, 2020. Once they register, they will be provided with a unique number that is now required to advertise a home on any short-term rental site, such as Airbnb or Hotels.com.

Short-term rentals are defined as properties that are listed to rent for fewer than 28 consecutive days.

“This is good news for Toronto residents and a step in the right direction when it comes to regulating short-term rentals and maintaining the peace and quiet of our neighbourhoods,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said. “This system will provide crucial oversight of operators and ensure that they are held accountable and only operate within their principal residences.”

A $50 fee is required to register. This fee must be paid yearly in order to advertise short-term rentals in Toronto. In addition, short-term rental operators will have to collect and remit a 4% Municipal Accommodation Tax on a quarterly basis, beginning in 2021.

New Toronto Regulations Subject to Delays Despite Approval in 2018

The Toronto City Council originally approved the regulations for short-term rentals on Dec. 7, 2017 and Jan. 31, 2018. However, Toronto’s zoning bylaw amendments that permit short-term rentals as a use were appealed to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, or LPAT.

LPAT dismissed the appeals on Nov. 18, 2019 and upheld the Toronto City Council’s zoning bylaws for short-term rental rules. Implementation of the policy was subject to additional delays as Toronto had to redirect resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve been waiting for this since December 2017,” Thorben Wieditz of FairBnb Canada, a coalition of housing advocates and hotel workers, told CBC.ca. “This could eliminate all the ghost hotel operators that have stockpiled investment properties and run them as exclusive Airbnb units.”

Wieditz says that there are more than 7,000 homes in Toronto that are currently being advertised that will no longer be legal under the new bylaws. He notes that San Francisco implemented a similar policy, which caused Airbnb to essentially lose half of its inventory overnight.

Toronto Residents Sick of Parties in Short-Term Rentals

Last year, Toronto residents banded together to ask their elected representatives and city officials to address the issues posed by short-term rentals that are used to host huge parties.

Man struggling to sleep regarding Toronto's ne short-term rental bylawsA home in Toronto’s Lawnview Drive neighbourhood in North York drew their ire because it had reportedly been rented for large gatherings at least once a month since March 22, 2019. Local residents had complained to the city four times in five days in June after parties at the residence had been held in the middle of the workweek.

This short-term rental has reportedly disrupted the normally quiet neighborhood, and residents complain that house parties have led to a large number of cars parked in no parking zones, hundreds of intoxicated guests, loud music, and loads of trash left after the event.

Despite their efforts to reach out to city officials and representatives, the neighbourhood residents say that no one responded to their calls. Neighbourhood resident Jack Dupuis told CBC.ca that this lack of response is “intolerable.”

“There’s something wrong with the system where you’re elected … and don’t help,” Dupuis said.

Councillor John Filion told CBC.ca in July 2019 that there was no specific law in Toronto that imposed restrictions on house parties in short-term rental properties. The proposed bylaws had already been approved by the city council but Airbnb had filed an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.

New Policy Imposes Fees for Violations

The new bylaws will provide additional “teeth” to hold irresponsible property owners accountable for renting their homes illegally.

Carleton Grant, executive director of Toronto’s municipal licensing and standards, says that violators of the new policy will be fined, and that the registration system will provide the city with the information needed to find out who is following the rules.

“It’s going to give us a number of tools to allow us to enforce and know who is participating within the rules and who isn’t — and it’s going to allow us to go after them,” Carleton said. He notes that violators will be subject to fines ranging from $300 to $1,000, and that listings that don’t abide by the rules can be removed from the short-term rental sites.

What do you think about Toronto’s new short-term rental bylaws? Are they fair? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below! 

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