Once the Short-Term Rental Accommodation Licensing Program gets the green light from council at its June 20 meeting, city staff will initiate a soft rollout for this summer.
Here are the highlights of the program as presented to council at its June 6 committee of the whole meeting:
Fees
Short-term rental properties in Kawartha Lakes will be categorized as hosted, where the property owner or a representative lives on the property while guests are there, or un-hosted, as well as seasonal or year-round. Licence fees will be $150 and $300 for hosted seasonal and year-round, respectively, under the proposed bylaw, while un-hosted rentals will be subject to fees of $750 for seasonal use and $1,500 for year-round use.
Age Limits
As with licensing fees, council is looking to place age limits on renters based on the short-term rental status of hosted or un-hosted. Under the proposed changes to the short-term rental bylaw, renters of un-hosted rentals will have to be at least 25 years old, following the precedent set with vehicle rentals, whereas hosted properties can rent to anyone aged 18 years or older.
Occupancy
There is a base occupancy limit of two adults per bedroom, as well as two additional visitors, who can’t stay overnight, per bedroom. Occupancy limits will be established through the licensing process for rentals individually. Occupancy limits will be based on a number of factors beyond the number of bedrooms, including parking, septic and sewer capacities, as determined by inspections and information provided in the licensing application. The proposed bylaw does not place any limit on children 15 and younger.
Enforcement
The city’s municipal law enforcement and licensing department will need to add a licensing administrator, two licensing enforcement officers and another municipal law enforcement officer to its staff to support the Short-Term Rental Accommodation Business Licensing Program, including extended weekend and evening hours. A third-party vendor has also been hired to provide 24-7 service, receiving and managing telephone complaints including contacting rental property owners or representatives, who are required to attend within an hour if there is an issue, emergency services if necessary, real-time follow-up with complainant and data collection for municipal law enforcement follow-up.
Demerit Points
The proposed demerit point system would mean that short-term rental property owners who do not comply with the municipal bylaw would be subject to being issued demerit points. Seven demerit points will lead to the suspension of the rental licence for a period of six months. Accumulation of 15 demerit points can result in the licence being revoked or licence application denied.
Under the proposed demerit point system, points will be reset to zero after 2 years.