After years of residents raising concerns about short-term rentals, the City of Kawartha Lakes has introduced a new licensing program to help regulate the market.
On Tuesday, city council unanimously passed the program giving short-term rental operators until January 2024 to apply for a licence through the city to use a home or property as a short-term rental.
The municipality says more than 1,000 properties are listed for short-term rentals. Mayor Doug Elmslie noted earlier this spring, “a small percentage become party houses and they cause a great deal of grief.”
READ MORE: As demand returns, can short-term rentals co-exist with housing affordability?
Over the past five years, many residents, especially owners of waterfront properties, have voiced concerns about short-term rentals in residential areas. Among repeated concerns are high noise levels, partying, littering and vandalism.
A task force was formed in the spring to address the issue and present a solution to council.
Last winter, the municipality conducted a survey which found 68 per cent of respondents supported short-term rentals but 74 per cent felt the sites should be regulated and licensed.
“The bylaws are in place today, and we will deal with the problems starting today,” said Coun. Charlie McDonald, a task force member. “So if there’s any problems out there, we have the tools to deal with them now.”
A key component of the new program will be a demerit point system which tallies up any infractions from noise complaints to reports of over-capacity limits for a property. If a short-term rental receives seven points, the operator’s licence will be revoked for six months. If demerits reach 15 points, the licence is suspended for two years.
Annual licensing fees will support increased bylaw enforcement, including a complaint call line to relay to either rental owners or police, or both.
The municipality says this summer will act as a “soft launch” for the program.
However, not all residents are content with the program, including Nadine Heaslip, who noted some glaring omissions. An initial task force recommendation called for a mandatory property inspection, however, it was removed in favour of safety declarations from the rental operator.
“It scares me that I don’t think a homeowner is qualified to make that determination and could very well think, ‘My lights are turned on, my electrical system is fine,'” she said. “I don’t think that’s good enough. It’s not good enough for the neighbour that’s potentially beside a fire hazard.”
She also shared a concern about the program’s occupancy limit.
“It is no longer two people per bedroom — it is two people per bedroom two extra people per short-term rental, as well as all child/youth 15 and under,” she said.
The municipality insists the program isn’t a rigid document and changes and updates can be made.
— with files from Sam Houpt/Global News Peterborough
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