During a November 18 meeting, Collingwood, Ont.’s, town council approved a new bylaw that will permit the licencing of up to 200 short-term rentals (STR). The new bylaw will come into effect on January 6, 2025.
According to the town, the reasoning behind the licensing bylaw is that it wants to balance community safety with supporting tourism in the area and opportunities for residents to earn supplemental income.
Previously, all STRs were banned in Collingwood. But through a third-party review of online rental platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO, the town discovered that there were approximately 380 illegal STRs operating in Collingwood. Community members had voiced concerns about these unregulated rentals, specifically around noise and safety complaints, as well as limiting the town’s inventory of available housing.
To tackle the issue, the town started looking into licencing rentals. It consulted the community through surveys and received a positive response to the idea of licencing. Town council then began drafting a two-phase bylaw.
The town initiated phase one of the bylaw on February 1, 2024. This introduced class A licences for bed and breakfasts, requiring them to apply for a licence to operate. Since phase one’s launch, the town has received 24 applications but only issued seven licences—the rest being deemed ineligible.
Phase two, which is set to start on January 6, will introduce class B and C licences, which pertain to STRs. A class B licence allows an owner to rent out a single-detached dwelling as long as its their primary residence. Class C allows owners to rent out an additional residential unit on the same lot as their single-detached dwelling provided it’s their primary residence.
The town has decided to hold off on letting owners rent out condos, duplexes, and townhomes until it’s seen how the new STR licencing plays out with single-detached dwellings.
To receive a class B or C licence, owners will have to apply to the town. The licence costs $1,250 per year, plus $253.50 for a fire inspection, zoning certificate, and property standards compliance letter. Both the fire department and bylaw will perform an inspection of the property before it receives a licence. And the licence is only valid for one year.
The town is also determined to stick to its limit of 200 STRs. Once it’s reached that limit, applicants will be put on a waitlist and won’t receive a licence until the number falls below 200.
Under the new rules, guests can’t book for longer than 28 days. And properties are only allowed two guests per bedroom with a maximum of eight guests. Each STR must also appoint a “responsible person” that can be reached by the town in emergencies.
To ensure compliance, the town has introduced a demerit system as well as monetary fines. Demerit points are earned for infractions such as noise violations, waste collection violations, open-air burning, the discharge of fireworks, or if the STR’s responsible person doesn’t respond to the town within 60 minutes.
If an owner receives seven demerit points, their licence can be suspended for three months. If they receive 14 demerit points, their licence can be revoked, and they won’t be allowed to reapply for a new licence for six months.
Infractions can also be punished with fines, ranging from $500 to $2,000. The fines, however, become much heftier for owners trying to operate and market an unlicensed STR. According to the bylaw, a first conviction can receive up to a $25,000 fine, and subsequent convictions can receive up to $50,000 fines. If the owner is a corporation, these fines jump to $50,000 and $100,000, respectively.
If an individual wants to report an unlicensed STR or lodge a complaint against a licenced one, they can contact the bylaw services division through the town’s public portal. Any after-hours complaints should be directed to the Ontario Provincial Police’s non-emergency line.