Waterloo city council is cracking down on Airbnb and short-term rental operators, aiming to boost the supply of long-term rentals.
If you offer a house, townhouse or row house for a short-term rental, it must be your principal residence, council decided Monday in amending a rental bylaw. You can no longer rent out a low-rise property for the short term if you do not also live in it.
The restriction does not apply to apartments in mid or highrise buildings. Owners need not reside in such units to rent them out short-term on Airbnb or other platforms. This may change later, pending further review.
Vasic asked how city hall intends to mitigate tourism impacts. Local hotels appear to have the capacity to rent out more rooms, Curlew said.
At least five other Ontario cities already limit short-term rentals to units occupied by owners. They include Toronto, London, Mississauga, Hamilton and Oakville, according to a city hall report.
Council identified two goals: to ease a housing crisis by increasing the housing supply, and to respond to neighbourhood complaints that short-term rentals lead to excessive noise and other disruptions.
Roughly 500 short-term rentals are currently active in Waterloo, city hall estimates. About half are rented out as entire units; the rest are rented as a room or rooms within a property.
The crackdown could persuade owners of 100 homes to rent them out for the long term, or sell them back into the housing supply, according to a city report. This could grow to 250 homes if council later extends its new rule to units in taller buildings.
Airbnb listings make up less than one per cent of Waterloo dwellings, the company said in a statement.
“While we look forward to reviewing the bylaw, and are always willing to work with municipalities on regulations, evidence continues to show that short-term rentals have no significant impact on the availability or affordability of homes in the vast majority of communities, including Waterloo,” said Alex Howell, policy lead of Airbnb in Canada.
Kitchener is also examining short-term rentals. In November when the cities met with short-term rental operators to discuss potential regulations, operators cited opposition to municipal licensing and to a requirement that units be occupied by owners.
City hall estimates that on average, a short-term rental in Waterloo generates roughly $133 per night while a short-term rental listing generates $24,000 per year.
Limiting short-term rentals will help Waterloo qualify for a federal government grant that could pay for enforcement costs. The federal grant, not yet secured, is worth about $600,000.
Enforcement is expected to be difficult because city hall does not know which specific properties are offered for short-term rental, and can’t determine it without upgrading its systems.
Owners of low-rise homes who provide short-term rentals are already expected to pay a Waterloo licensing fee, renewed annually for $200 to $250 depending on the size of the home. City hall is unsure how many owners actually pay this fee.
Airbnb refused a city request for its data, calling it confidential business information.
An unscientific, online survey by city hall that drew 101 responses found 56% of respondents support limiting short-term rentals to properties occupied by owners. It found 58% feel short-term rentals have a negative impact on the surrounding community.