Newmarket holds resident survey on Airbnbs until Jan. 3

Town plans to regulate short-term rentals comes after man killed

Yorkregion.com
December 20, 2019
Lisa Queen

Do you have an Airbnb, maybe several, in your neighbourhood and are worried about the non-stop stream of guests, the noise, the parking problems and other headaches?

Or do you own a residence and feel you have a right to rent it out to make some extra money?

The town is exploring regulating short-term rental accommodations and wants to hear from you, Flynn Scott, manager of regulatory services, and Ted Horton, senior planner at the town, said at a public meeting Dec. 10.

Short-term rentals involve people renting out their residence, or part of it, for periods of less than 30 days, often through online booking platforms, such as Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and Booking.com.

The town’s process comes following two killings at Airbnbs in York Region this year.

Rizwaan Aboobakar Wadee, 18, was found dead of a gunshot wound at a May 3 prom after-party at 6336 Bloomington Rd. in Whitchurch-Stouffville.

Just five months later, on Oct. 4, DeShane Taylor, 26, was killed and a female victim was injured when they were shot in a car outside a suspected Airbnb on Colter Street in Newmarket.

You can complete a survey at HeyNewmarket.ca/short-term-rentals to let the town know your feelings about short-term rentals.

The survey closes on Jan. 3.