MISSISSAUGA SHORT-TERM RENTALS: EYEING REGULATION

NRU
Jan. 11, 2017
Andrew Cohrs

After several incidents related to internet-based platforms, such as Airbnb, Mississauga is considering regulatory options for short-term rentals.

“We had a couple of incidents last year with homes that were listed on one of these platforms... around noise, parking, and maybe the house not being used by tourists but for other reasons... So it’s come to our attention,” Mississauga development and design director Lesley Pavan told NRU.

A recently completed staff report shares current data on short-term accommodations in Mississauga, compares other municipalities’ actions and outlines options for regulation. Short-term rental listings are generally concentrated in and around the city’s downtown core. Accounting for about 90 per cent of short-term rentals, Airbnb data show 525 active listings and 300 active hosts in Mississauga, suggesting some hosts have multiple listings. As well, the data indicates rapid growth in this sector, with Airbnb reporting a 227 per cent increase in visitors to Mississauga between May 2015 and May 2016.

“We’ve got several hundred [short-term rentals] and a couple hundred are active fairly regularly... We are used to not regulating the people content of a home... With the new [sharing] economy it’s a whole new world out here, so we don’t actually have any laws for or against it yet in the city,” planning and development committee chair George Carlson told NRU.

Mississauga’s zoning bylaw does not differentiate ownership or rental duration for residential dwellings, thus regulations do not prohibit, or even define, short-term rental accommodations. Hotels and motels are defined as “overnight accommodation” and must include 20 bedrooms. Bed and breakfasts, while not defined, are considered a business use and require a minor variance or rezoning to be permitted. To fill this policy void, staff is providing information and options for council to consider.

“[We have looked at] everything from defining [short-term rental accommodations] to an outright prohibition, to maybe allowing it [in specific circumstances].”

Pavan suggests potential policy options could include permitting short-term rentals in some areas, in grade-related houses subject to conditions such as limiting either the number of days a visitor may stay or the maximum number of days per year a room or house may be rented. Another suggestion is to limit short-term rental permission to an owner’s primary residence.

Paven cautions that while short-term rentals can be financially beneficial to homeowners, there may be wider implications on the availability of affordable rental housing.

“Once you hit a certain number of days a year, it is more profitable to rent your room or place to Airbnb than to a long-term tenant, so that’s a concern... We really do not want to displace any potential rental units by short-term accommodations, so we want to make sure we keep that supply of rental housing and affordable housing out there as much as possible.”

While several GTHA municipalities are exploring options for regulating short-term rental accommodations, most have not yet done so. Pavan says that Mississauga will be closely following Toronto’s progress on this issue as it moves through public and stakeholder engagement consultations early this year. Staff also explored options used in jurisdictions outside of Ontario, such as the Province of Quebec, State of New York, San Francisco and Vancouver. In most cases, the jurisdiction is either in the process of regulating short-term accommodations or has recently passed regulations. Generally, short-term accommodations are limited to a specified number of nights per year. Carlson said that Mississauga will likely follow suit.

“It will probably end up under some regulatory system... I have not sensed anything from council that [it] would try to enforce a ban against [short-term rentals]. It would be like grabbing mercury, it would just slip through your fingers.”

The Mississauga planning and development committee will be considering the report at its meeting January 16.