A Ramara resident is frustrated with the township’s short-term rental (STR) regulations as he looks to stay afloat amid interest rate hikes from the Bank of Canada.
Dipen Parekh, who resides in the GTA but owns his family’s cottage in the Washago area, said he can only afford the property for an additional six months before selling it or renting it — either short-term or long-term — at current interest rates.
He had hoped to use the property temporarily as an STR to ride out the hikes, but found the township’s regulations forbid him from doing so. Those regulations, he says, could force him to sell the property.
While he is willing to absorb the cost of the township’s annual $3,000 licensing fee, his property lies within 270 metres of an additional STR, and Ramara’s regulations forbid STRs within 300 metres of one another.
Aside from managing the costs of the property, Parekh said he has no interest in operating an STR long term.
Parekh expressed frustration with the regulations in Ramara, and hopes to find a way to legally operate a short-term rental within the township.
“I have other friends who have cottages in Huntsville, Bracebridge — I’ve never heard the situation of a 300-metre rule,” he said. “I don’t know (if legally) a city can do something like this.”
While he is not opposed to renting the property, temporarily, for a longer period, Parekh said he suspects the demand for long-term housing rentals is relatively low in the area.
Ramara Mayor Basil Clarke disagrees.
“I don’t even know of any houses for rent,” Clarke told OrilliaMatters. “There’s such a shortage of housing right now, so I disagree with (Parekh). A long-term rental, he certainly would be able to rent it out.”
While Clarke sympathizes with Parekh’s situation, the township’s STR regulations are in place for a reason, he said, noting there is a waiting list for licences for STR properties within 300 metres of one another.
STR licences are not transferable to new property owners within Ramara, so if an STR property is sold, the licence is revoked, which opens space for someone else on the waiting list.
Given issues with problematic short-term rentals, Clarke said the township is strict on STRs operating illegally.
Parekh’s property is currently listed on AirBnb.