An Edmonton councillor wants the city to toughen up on the rules surrounding short-term rentals — properties and suites being rented by the night on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO.
“Housing should be for homes. If you want a hotel, you should build a hotel and pay commercial tax like a hotel, not use rental stock in apartments for this purpose,” Michael Janz said.
He cites the housing shortage, increasing rent and negative impacts on neighbours as the driving reasons behind the push.
“It’s externalizing all of the trouble on the neighbourhood while it’s privatizing the profits. I’ve heard a lot of complaints from neighbours about these party houses, a lot of complaints from students about a shortage of good rental properties and condos, especially in areas around the university and the hospital.
“When it eats up supply, it denies renters’ choice,” Janz said. “You don’t have as many options.”
Janz says he’s heard complaints from residents about “party houses” — noise complaints, safety concerns, parking issues — from houses or condos being rented out on a night-to-night basis.
And, while the setup might be lucrative for the homeowner, Janz says it’s not good for the rental market nor people looking for longer-term rentals.
He says there are about 4,400 homes in Edmonton not being rented out.
“They’re being turned into short-term rentals like Airbnbs and VRBO and that means there’s a housing shortage, that means it has a negative effect on housing affordability. Rents are higher when there’s Airbnbs, VRBOs in the market because it takes good housing stock and then turns it into a higher-revenue property for the owners.”
His motion includes a 90-day minimum limit on a rental stay, and he wants property owners to have to remain on the premises of the spaces they lease.
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“The on-site residency allows for greater oversight for the rest of the neighbourhood so they’re not having to deal with your problems, from your tenants, while you’re away.”
This proposal comes on the heels of new legislation introduced across all B.C., forbidding the transformation of whole properties into short-term rental spaces. Janz wants to see Edmonton follow suit.
Edmonton council will debate the issue next week, Janz said, and can consider changing the bylaw or upping enforcement. He said that half the short-term rentals in Edmonton are not legally registered.
“When these sites were created it was a good idea, but it has spun wildly out of control.”
The Alberta Hotels and Lodging Association is advocating for a level playing field in the accommodation sector.
“These are absolutely businesses and enterprises that are operating in the commercial space,” Tracy Douglas-Blowers said. “They’re competing with hotels, and hotels are fine with that, but it should be on a level playing field.”
She thinks anyone operating an accommodation business should have to comply with the same taxation requirements, as well as the same health, safety and employment standards.
Douglas-Blowers said she’s not referring to a homeowner simply renting out a room in their home.
“That’s your own home. That’s an appropriate use of your own home. But if you are renting out 100 rooms and they just happen to not be under the same roof, that is an enterprise.
“They are purchasing multiple properties in buildings all over cities and renting them out on a nightly basis just like hotels do and are exempt from all of the rules, and they’re being subsidized by paying residential tax on commercial businesses.”
Douglas-Blowers estimates that in Edmonton, commercial property taxes are nearly three times higher than residential taxes.
In a statement, Airbnb policy manager Alex Howell said:
“We understand an underproduction of new housing has leaders across the country grappling with how to alleviate housing costs, but targeting short-term rental hosts — the majority of which share just one home — will not solve this complex issue.
“We hope Edmonton leaders will work with us and local hosts on a sensible framework for short-term rental regulations that protect the benefits home sharing provides to local residents and economies, just as we’ve done with other governments around the world.”
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