The new bylaw aimed at cracking down on Airbnb and other short-term accommodation in London, Ont., went into effect on Monday and already, critics say, there are signs it may not work as well as it did. hoped.
The settlement, which was passed in June, was intended to balance the competing interests of landlords who want to rent out part of their home to make ends meet, while limiting the rapid growth of short-term rentals operating as “ghost hotels”. .
The rules require operators to live in the house they are renting, which puts absentee owners in the crosshairs of the regulations. It’s an attempt by city lawmakers to block investors from operating multiple short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods that were never intended to be zoned for business.
When the regulation went into effect on Monday, city hall officials said only seven of the estimated 650 short-term rentals operating in the city signed up for the new $175 annual license, which puts 99% of all rentals short term in London on the wrong side of the law.
Law enforcement is a problem across Canada
“I’m not surprised people haven’t signed up. We’ve seen this elsewhere,” said Thorben Wieditz, director of Fairbnb Canada, a nonprofit advocacy group that pushes for fairness in the regulation of businesses. short term rentals. .
We need to ensure that enforcement is as rigorous as possible.– Thorben Wieditz, director of Fairbnb Canada
He said while more people will likely sign up in the coming weeks, there have been problems getting the majority of short-term owners on board in most Canadian cities that have passed similar regulations.
“I think it’s up to the municipalities to enforce the law, keep track of fines and make sure people are registered and only renting, as in the case of London, their own primary residence.”
“It’s a problem in municipalities across the country. A lot of municipalities don’t have the resources.”
Landlords don’t like the new rules
Right off the bat, London’s short-term rental regulations in the face of opposition from the owners, when dozens of them filled a committee room at City Hall to give lawmakers a hearing this spring. Most of them disputed the requirement that in order to be eligible for a municipal license, they must live in the house they are renting.
That could explain why so many are reluctant to register now that the regulations are in place, but if authorities don’t follow through on enforcement, Wieditz said, London could end up like Quebec.
There, the authorities did not issue a single fine in the first year of the program, leading many operators to act as if there was no licensing system.
In Montreal in particular, an estimated 95% of short-term rentals in the city are illegal.
For London, Wieditz said, the rigor with which the licensing system is applied will be the most important factor in determining whether licensing is successful.
“We need to ensure that enforcement is as rigorous as possible, to ensure that these rules and regulations are effective.”
Fines start at $500
Wade Jefferies, an official with London’s Bylaws Department, told CBC News via email on Wednesday that ‘education and warning notices always come first’, but bylaws officers won’t hesitate not to impose fines when the situation warrants it.
“There is no grace period, but investigating complaints and putting owners on notice takes time,” he wrote.
“Penalties for operating without a valid or current short-term accommodation license, or short-term accommodation broker license, start at $500 and could double, company default could also include a subpoena to appear before the tribunal.”
That may not be a big enough penalty to cool resistance to the new licensing regime, especially when Airbnb says the average host in Canada earned $9,600 last year.
Wieditz said Airbnb and other online rental operations can also do their part, notifying their hosts of rule changes and encouraging them to take out licenses to encourage compliance.
“It’s literally an easy step for these platforms.”
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