Town of Rothesay, N.B. calls for more regulations for short-term accomodations

The small town of Rothesay, N.B., is calling on the provincial government for a registry of short-term rentals, as the town fears safety concerns and an unfair playing field for those with registered accommodations like hotels, motels and campgrounds.

At a council meeting on Tuesday, town council pushed forward a bylaw to allow a levy on registered accommodations in the town. The 3.5-per cent levy would be charged to guests and received back to the town at a later date to help with tourism.

They will be joining neighbouring Saint John and Quispamsis in adding that.

The unfair playing field was brought to light in February at a public hearing, where an innkeeper suggested that he could put his units on Airbnb to avoid safety regulations and fees downloaded on the consumer.

“When It becomes a bylaw or law, we could shift all our rooms onto Airbnb so we can be competitive with the market,” told Martin St. Denis, the owner of the Shadow Lawn Inn.

The town said they plan to write to the province in hopes of getting a similar registry to Nova Scotia, requiring those who provide shared short-term or short-term accommodations to register with the province.

That registration also included a fee ranging between $50-150. Currently, New Brunswick doesn’t have that registry.

“(A concern) is safety of registered and unregulated, and that was driven home by the recent episode in Montreal,” said Rothesay Mayor Nancy Grant.

That episode was a fire in Montreal that killed seven occupants of a building containing an unregulated Airbnb. The mayor said that it was an example of how the accommodations can be a safety risk.

“(another concern) is with the use of municipal resources, which can exceed the norm with these Airbnb’s,”  Grant said at a recent council meeting.

In a statement to Global News, the province said there are currently no regulations for short-term properties, noting that municipalities can, however, set zoning and permit requirements within their municipal boundary.

They also are looking into adding requirements of their own.

“The Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture is currently performing a full assessment of New Brunswick’s accommodations sector. This includes, but is not limited to, traditional hotels/motels, resorts, cottages, outfitters, campgrounds and shareable accommodations (Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.),” said spokesperson Leigh Watson in a statement.

“As part of this assessment, the department is conducting a jurisdictional scan of what other provinces and municipalities are doing as it relates to the short-term rentals industry and the tourism sector. The assessment, which will be completed by early June, will give the department a comprehensive report on the current state of the accommodations sector and strategic considerations for forward planning.”

The town’s deputy mayor believes there are roughly 10-20 short-term accommodations in the town.

2:23 Fire survivor, housing groups calling for more action against illegal short-term rentals