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Airbnbs, home rentals pitting Georgina neighbour against neighbour

Extended bylaw enforcement in place for the summer to deal with short-term rentals

Yorkregion.com
July 18, 2019
Amanda Persico

In the summertime when the weather is hot, the best place to be is under those patio lanterns drinking some spiked lemonade.

That is, unless, you live next to a party palace, booked and rented through an online platform such as Airbnb or VRBO.

Short-term rental accommodations (STRAs) in Georgina are pitting neighbour against neighbour in a battle over noise, parking and weekend lounging.

“We want neighbours,” said Georgina resident, Sue Jagminas, who has lived beside a "ghost hotel" for a number of years.

“We don’t want to live next door to constant barrage of strangers and parties. Do you know how unsettling it is come home and not know what your weekend will be like?”

Jagminas was one of many residents voicing concern over the proliferation of STRAs along Georgina’s lakeshore.

Recently, the town hosted a public meeting to flush out concerns in preparation for establishing a STRA policy framework and licensing program to be implemented in 2020.

For many local hosts, establishing a licensing program is favourable, but warn against painting all STRA hosts with the same bad brush.

“We all just want good neighbours,” said Lauren Helmkay, who runs a lakefront whole-home rental that explicitly lists no parties or events as a standard house renting rule.

“I take that responsibility very seriously. I feel very bad for the people living beside shitty neighbours.”

While in favour of regulations and a licensing program, regulations won’t stop the problems residents are having.

“You could live beside a (STRA) or you could live beside a crappy neighbour 365 days a year,” Helmkay added.

Airbnb

In the interim, the town has implemented extended bylaw enforcement hours to deal specifically with STRAs.

In Prince Edward County -- an area with similar lakefront living attraction -- STRAs operating prior to October are grandfathered into a new licensing regime that limits the number of guests, parking spaces and location.

The county also requires a landscape buffer or privacy fence between residences. Not to mention, children are not counted in the guest limit.

Councillors also grappled with adding a municipal accommodation tax (MAT) with funds being directed to boost tourism in the town.

Ottawa, Toronto, Vaughan, Markham, Windsor and Waterloo Region have implemented a four per cent MAT. Vaughan is in the process of developing a STRA policy and plans to tack on the additional tax to short term rentals.

Instead of a percentage, Niagara Falls charges $2 per night.

Another report is expected to come before council later in the fall detailing: the licence fee structure and total number of licensees allowed by the town; number of guests and parking spaces permitted at each STRA; site specific limitations; managing the distances and proliferation of STRAs; insurance requirements; and the benefits of enacting a MAT.

There was also some discussion about establishing a property manager-type requirement, where either the rental host or host designate is readily available to deal with issues as well as treating whole-home rentals differently than single room rentals.

The town is working through a STRA policy frame work that could include:

• Official Plan and secondary plan amendments to include STRAs;

• Establish a licence regime for STRAs that includes a host agreement with the town and a renter agreement to abide by all local bylaws; and

• Licence renewal or revoking an existing licence is based on a demerit points system where demerit points are issued for infractions, such as noise, not complying with build code or requirements, running a STRA without a licence.

Extended summer enforcement for short-term rentals accommodations:

For more information, visit georgina.ca/STRA.