City committee proposes new rules for short-term rentals in Toronto

Nov 10 2017, 12:13 am

Toronto may be getting new rules for short-term rentals in the city.

The City of Toronto’s Licensing and Standards Committee has released a report ahead of its November 16 meeting, which outlines proposals on how to work with companies like Airbnb.

The City began looking at ways to work with short-term rentals earlier this year, and the committee had made several recommendations for City staff after months of consultations with stake holders and the public.

According to a City report released in June, the number of Airbnb listings in Toronto has tripled between 2014 and 2016, with 15,869 listings and over 10,000 properties rented in 2016. Within those rentals, 65% were listings for the entire unit, while 35% were for a room within a unit.

And now, the Licensing and Standards Committee is proposing that short-term rentals, like Airbnb, be registered with the City. The proposals also state that the homes being rented for short-term purposes, defined as 28 days or less, would have to be the principal residence of the owner, and anyone renting out their home would only be able to do so for a total of 180 nights per year.

Additionally, companies running short-term rentals would be open to providing the City information regarding rental should it request it. And in order to be licensed, companies like Airbnb would be required to pay a one-time application fee of $5,000, as well as $1.00 per night booked.

Besides this week’s report, two additional reports regarding short-term rentals are expected to be released in the next few weeks. One will be a zoning report to permit short-term rentals in principal residences across the city and in secondary suites, which will be considered on November 15, by the Planning and Growth Management Committee.

The second is a potential short-term rental tax report, expected to be released on November 29 by the Executive Committee.

After the the Licensing and Standards Committee looks at its latest report next week, the proposed short-term rental regulations will be considered by City Council on December 6.

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