Strict rules against short-term rentals should be eased in sa国际传媒 so they match provincial regulations, city councillors will hear Monday.听
Residents should once again be able to get permits to rent their principal residence and/or a basement suite or carriage house on the same property, municipal staff suggest.听
However, the renting of secondary properties to tourists would still be banned.听
鈥淪hort-term rental regulations have drawn strong criticism from local businesses and the development community as a core reason for a decline in the local economy,鈥 planner Nola Kilmartin writes in a report to council.听
鈥淭his revision should reduce confusion about short-term rentals in sa国际传媒 in relation to other surrounding municipalities, and support a more positive narrative regarding tourism and accommodation choice in sa国际传媒,鈥 Kilmartin says.
It was only a year ago that council passed rules that effectively banned new short-term rentals in sa国际传媒, grandfathering the approximately 430 that existed at the time. A key rationale was that basement suites and carriage homes should be made available for long-term sa国际传媒 residents, not tourists.听
Now, several reasons are cited by Kilmartin for easing the restriction, including:听
- a dramatic increase over the past year in sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 apartment vacancy rate, from 1.3 per cent to 3.8 per cent, the third highest in Canada. In addition, hundreds of new apartment units have been approved but are not yet completed.听
- apartment rents have stabilized or are decreasing, further suggesting there is ample supply to meet the demand for long-term rental housing听
- a study by Statistics Canada that suggested only about 1,400 of an estimated 4,600 short-term rentals, both legal and illegal, believed to be available in greater sa国际传媒 last July would be offered by their owners as long-term rentals. This number represents less than 1.5 per cent of all residential units in the city, suggesting the impact of short-term rentals on the availability of long-term housing was overblown
- the dampening impact of short-term rental restrictions on tourism, a vital sector in sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 economy. 鈥淲ineries, restaurants, tour operators, construction firms, plumbing services, and home furnishing stores have claimed that a shortage of short-term rentals has hurt their summer business,鈥 Kilmartin acknowledges
-if the city aligns its short-term rental policy with the provincial approach, it would qualify for federal funding to help with the enforcement of regulations
If council accepts the report's recommendations, staff will be told to make the necessary changes to the existing short-term rules and bring the update policy back for approval at a future meeting.听
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