Suggestions to Implement New Regulations for Short Term Rentals, Including Airbnb Properties Made by Toronto

The mayor of Toronto says suggested new regulations for the city’s narrow duration rental market, including assets listed on Airbnb, would aid hit a certain stability between the demand for such accommodations and the disorder they can bring to local neighborhoods.

John Tory is standing by a report released by the city’s Municipal Licensing and Standards department which outlines a number of suggestions for people and institutions who provide short-term rentals.

One of the suggested regulations would be to stop people from giving out homes that are not their primary residencies.

Tory says such a change would provide a balance to neighborhoods by restricting the number of people staying there for a short duration, while also providing residences on the market for longer-term tenants.

Other proposals involve licensing short-term rental institutions like Airbnb, coming up with a database for individuals who operate short-term rentals, and modifying zoning bylaws to create a new house use classification for short-term rentals.

The city council needs to vote on the regulations before its implementation, and Tory says the suggested recommendations are still up for public discussion and feedback.

Tory claimed that people who put up secondary properties which they then upload on Airbnb and other websites of that category risk affecting the balance in those neighborhoods by bringing in temporary populations into supposed residential areas.

He claimed the suggested new regulations, which the city evaluates would remove about 3,200 properties from the short duration rental market, could reduce that risk.

“I think what we’ve done here is we’ve tried to achieve a balance between this kind of availability for tourists and others, and the needs of people for permanent housing and the need for stable neighbourhoods,” Tory told a press conference on Monday.