The Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS) Department said it is working hard to ensure hosts for short-term rentals like Airbnbs adhere to licensing rules. Operators who violate the rules could face fines of $1,000 or worse.
MLS chief executive Carleton Grant told Daily Hive that they have recently applied various techniques to find properties that do not comply with municipal bylaws.
“We have two approved companies – Airbnb and Booking.com – and if we have problematic properties with people breaking the rules, we work with platforms to remove them from the list,” he said.
Grant said they started “data discovery techniques” like audits. They also searched various websites, message boards and advertisements to find short-term rentals that violated the rules. Penalties can range from a fine of $1,000 and up.
So what are the most common complaints that come through 311? Unsurprisingly, house parties.
“It’s an issue that we were able to deal with ourselves, with the police or with the rigs themselves, because that’s not the intent of short-term rentals,” Grant said.
Before the pandemic, Toronto had about 15,000 registered short-term rentals; now it’s down to 4,500.
Asked if he anticipates further complaints as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease, Grant said it was too early to tell. He said it depends on whether people feel comfortable traveling or having people at home.
“There’s a whole series of things that COVID-19 has caused that I think are impacting the numbers and the space,” he said.
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