Failing to register by mid-November and continuing to operate STR could result in fines up to $100K per violation.
Following approval of a bylaw to establish regulations and registration requirements for its estimated 400 STRs in August, the municipality will start accepting applications Tuesday with an end date of November 15.
With roughly 400 STRs operating in the township currently, a set amount of 300 licence applications will be issued on a first-come-first-serve basis
To accomplish this task, the township is partnering with Granicus/Host Compliance, an internationally recognized company that specializes in identifying and monitoring short-term rentals, to assist the Township in identifying such properties.
Tiny councillors agreed upon a $1,500 flat licensing fee in the first year of implementation. Staff calculated that after the hiring of many required part-time, full-time and contracted positions and various expenses, just under $1,350 would be needed.
Enforcement, a concern by many residents, will be increased through the hire of a full time STR officer as a point-of-contact. As Granicus receives a notification through officer observation or resident complaint, appropriate enforcement will occur. Numbered corporations running STRs in residential areas were in council’s sights as well.
If a STR operator fails to complete an application by 11:59 p.m. on November 15, he or she will be contravention of Bylaw #22-017 and must cease operations immediately.
The township doesn’t plan to accept any new applications after that date and failure to follow municipal guidelines could result in court-assessed fines of up to $100,000 per violation.