A crackdown by city hall has upended the local short-term rental market — leaving just 31 legally licenced properties on websites like AirBnB and Vrbo.
A total of 366 unlicensed premises offering short term accommodations (STAs) have been identified and issued a “notice of contravention” by Municipal Compliance Services.
Failure to comply with the written notice could result in a $500 fine that may be doubled for repeat offences.
Of those locations identified through the investigation, 89 were operating without a licence.
The remaining 277 premises do not appear to be the principal residence of the property owner and must cease operating as a short-term accommodation.
STAs are required to be located on the owner’s primary residential property, essentially eliminating out-of-town and absentee hosts.
For the 2023 licence year, 55 short-term accommodation applications were received but just 31 licences have been issued.
A short-term accommodation is defined as a temporary rental accommodation in all, or part of a dwelling for short period (29 days or less).
Online brokers must also be licenced and post individual premise licence numbers for each listing on their platform.