Achi news desk-
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with an upcoming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.
Operators of short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs, have until June 30 to register with the provincial government or face being removed from the online platforms, according to the province’s tourism, culture, arts and recreation department.
Amendments passed on Friday extend the requirement to homeowners who list their own homes for short-term rental.
Deborah Bourden, chair of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, says the new regulations will help ensure a level playing field between short-term rentals and more established players.
He said all accommodation must now follow the same set of rules on fire safety and insurance.
“We had to figure out as an industry, how do we wrap our arms around this brand new type of accommodation?” she said on Monday. “The main thing to worry about is always fire, life and safety.”
Deborah Bourden is the chair of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, who spent years lobbying and working with the provincial government to change regulations affecting Airbnb and other short-term rental listings. (CTV News)
While the rules aren’t aimed at squeezing Airbnb owners out, Bourden said some will find the new standards too costly or difficult.
“For some people, it won’t be a big deal. But if you have, you know, a basement flat here in St. John’s and suddenly … you have to face the possibility of putting four or five egress windows in your basement. flat, you might say no, that doesn’t really apply to me.”
Across the country, in British Columbia, authorities are taking a much tougher approach.
Starting this month, in dozens of communities including Vancouver and Victoria, homeowners will no longer be able to host short-term rentals in units off their main property.
Only their primary residences and secondary rooms – or another dwelling unit on the same property – will be legal to list online.
The provincial government says it hopes to return some of the 16,000 homes used mainly for short-term rentals to the regular housing market, in an effort to improve housing affordability and access in the province.
Nancy Paine, who ran a property management company for short-term rentals, says she has shut down her business in Victoria – despite disagreeing with the state government’s approach.
“People were paying a licence, they were doing the business above the table and it was sanctioned in these areas,” he said. “It really takes away their property rights as they knew them and as they bought these homes.”
Paine estimates that only a third of the homeowners he has worked with will list their property for long-term rental. The others are trying to sell or simply hold on to their units.
She said many of the Airbnb units she managed were quite small — not attractive to long-term tenants.
“I believe there are better ways to tackle affordable housing,” he said.
The debate over short-term rentals continues in other parts of Canada, too: in the cottage country of Ontario, the township of Muskoka Lakes is considering a new bylaw that would — similar to Newfoundland and Labrador’s — create a registry and list of rentals short term. .
Mayor Peter Kelley said there are around 800 units that municipal staff are aware of, and likely many more. Of those, he says, a small number cause big problems.
“They come in, they make noise, they party too much, music, fireworks. They defy fire bans.”
He said that part of the regulations will require owners to name themselves or a separate property manager who could be on site with an hour’s notice, in order to respond more proactively to issues as they arise.
“To the extent that there is disruptive behavior so that it can be set right in the moment and salvage what’s left of the weekend… rather than sort of waiting for fines to be issues, which really aren’t meet the problem.”
He said the proposed rules had received a lot of feedback and that municipal staff were now studying the responses. He expects the rules to be in place by next summer.
