By Mike Anderson
The owners of two short-term rental accommodations (STRAs) in Georgina were charged last month under the Reopening Ontario Act for operating in violation of the provincial ban on short-term rentals.
According to a Town spokesperson, a total of three short-term rental owners have been charged so far under the Act.
The ban, which officially ends on June 11 as part of step one of the province’s reopening plan, only permitted bookings for people in need of housing; no short-term stays were allowed.
The owners of 327 Lake Dr. N and 1976 Metro Rd. N. were each fined $880 by Georgina bylaw officers for hosting guests.
However, the 1976 Metro Rd. N. owner was also charged with operating without a Town STRA license and fined $500 plus fees and surcharges. The charge carries a maximum fine of $25,000 for a first offence.
Both properties were advertised on popular short-term rental platforms, including Airbnb and VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner), during the ban. And at least one posted guest reviews during the stay-at-home order.
David Marchese, whose house is next door to 1976 Metro Rd. N., was happy to see the Town charge the owner for operating illegally during the stay-at-home order.
“I was livid,” said Mr. Marchese, who lives with his wife and two young children.
“I’ve taken the stay-at-home order very seriously. I’ve been working from home for 18 months now. I’ve been respecting that, but the owners of this property are not,” he said.
“There’s been no oversight on this property. And the guests have not been respectful.”
He says previous guests at the residence have let off fireworks, fired BB guns and shot arrows at his fence. And, on one occasion, a guest even flew a drone over his property while he was in the pool with his wife.
“I’m happy the Town has been taking the right steps. But they need to go further. All they can really do is issue a fine if it’s not licensed. They should be able to shut it down.”
Georgina Council approved a bylaw in 2019 that established a licensing and regulatory system for short-term rental accommodations (STRAs), which were becoming a nuisance to residents, who were upset over excessive noise, littering, illegal parking and other bylaw offences.
Under the licensing system, short-term rental hosts are required to purchase an annual license.
The license is $250, plus the cost of a fire inspection ($122) and septic inspection ($106) for properties not municipally serviced. The annual renewal of the license fee is $150, plus the cost of the fire inspection.
Both the hosts and guests of licensed STRAs must also adhere to a Renter’s Code of Conduct, which allows bylaw officers to issue demerit points for violations — a noise complaint is one demerit point. After a total of 15 demerit points, the Town can revoke the license.
While the licensing system was hailed as one of the first of its kind in Ontario, compliance remains an issue.
According to a Town spokesperson, only 18 short-term rental accommodations have obtained a license to date. The Town had initially planned to cap STRA licenses at 150 a year, which means the vast majority of short-term rentals are operating illegally.
Meanwhile, only a dozen demerit points have been issued, with none of the STRAs accumulating enough demerit points to have their licenses revoked.
According to Thorben Wieditz, Director of Fairbnb Canada, which promotes government regulation for short-term rental platforms, achieving compliance is harder for smaller communities that lack the resources to enforce licensing systems.
“Smaller communities don’t have the infrastructure nor the resources in terms of bylaw enforcement to accommodate a huge amount of short-term rental guests and also enforce local bylaws,” Mr. Wieditz said.
“In some areas, it’s fairly black and white, and short-term rentals are considered a commercial use, and as such cannot exist within a residentially zoned area. So they are literally not allowed to operate in certain areas.”
“Once townships or smaller municipalities start to legalize short-term rentals by coming up with licensing regimes, then it becomes a cat and mouse game very quickly. And that’s a problem because the burden of proof can be quite high for the regulator to claim that someone is running an illegal short-term rental property.”
Mr. Wieditz also warns that with the province reopening, Georgina, like many lakeside communities, can expect to see a major influx of short-term rental guests this summer.
“People that are not allowed or won’t travel internationally are going to make use of what is available to them in closer proximity to their home,” he said.
“There are certain travellers that are very responsible and bring their own groceries and aren’t going to mingle. But I’m not very hopeful. We are still living through a pandemic where it’s only safe if we can keep a physical distance; until everyone is vaccinated.”
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