Hamilton councillors have approved a licensing system for short-term rentals that bars them outside of primary residences.
The new rules to reel in the Airbnb-style operations passed on a 13-3 council vote Wednesday. They include licensing, registration and inspection requirements as well as fees.
Operators are also prohibited from offering short-term rentals in homes they don’t live in.
The regulations to start in June are meant to shore up long-term rental stock, and respond to complaints about safety and noise at some residences.
Coun. Esther Pauls, however, said the “overwhelming majority” of short-term-rental owners run tight ships as a means of extra income.
The Ward 7 councillor suggested a “less intrusive” approach that could involve a licence-and-demerit point system to deal with “a few bad apples or actors.”
In green-lighting the bylaw, council scrapped an initial staff proposal to place 120-night annual limit a home could be rented for short stays.
City politicians have heard from dozens of homeowners — via letters, virtually or in person — about the contentious proposal.
Some point to short-term rentals as preferable income generator to bitter experiences with problematic tenants as conventional landlords.