Insights into the October 24 2023 Short-Term Rentals Bylaw Meeting

On October 24, 2023, City of Toronto bylaw officers met with local short-term rental hosts to discuss and propose changes to the Short-Term Rental Bylaws. This meeting sparked a dynamic dialogue between the Bylaw office representatives and the Airbnb hosts which frequented the meeting, causing many of the Airbnb hosts to voice their concerns at the proposed changes to be made come the new year 2024. As the Toronto StayPro rental advisor, I attended the meeting and want to share some of the main points to know for the future of Toronto short-term rentals.

What is motivating the City of Toronto to propose changes?

According to the Bylaw Office, their primary concerns are: 

• Addressing the housing shortage of residential properties
• Maintaining community stability, and 
• Avoiding the regular issues of having short-term guests, like noise disturbances and failure to comply with garbage pick up times. 

Generally, the Bylaw officers made their intention clear: they hoped to encourage mid-term and long-term rentals and discourage short-term rentals.

What is the City of Toronto proposing to change?

The most noteworthy recommended bylaw change – and the one that generated the most aggressive opposition – was the City goal to implement a 180-night limit not only for Entire Home accommodations (as is currently the case), but also for Private Room accommodations. 

How would imposing a 180-day limit for all Airbnbs affect the hosting community?

For hosts who currently advertise or are planning to advertise an Entire Home accommodation (meaning a non-shared entire space with private entrance), there would be no difference if the proposed limit were implemented. This is because there is already one in place.

However, for hosts who currently advertise or are planning to advertise a Private Room accommodation (meaning a shared home type accommodation without private entrance), the 180-day limit would cut occupancy potential in half. As it currently stands, Private Room accommodations are not subject to limits and can rent 365 days of the year. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go over well among the participants of the meeting. People literally got out of their seats to voice their opposition. 

One Airbnb Host Shared her Heartbreaking Story 

As a Toronto retiree, she highlighted the somber reality of the proposed changes. With the cost of living and mortgage rates so high, she shared that without receiving any supplementary income from renting out her spare bedroom on Airbnb, she would not be able to maintain financial stability in retirement and would be forced to sell the home she lived in for 40 years. 

My Personal Thoughts: 

As someone who works in the industry, I would argue that the motivation behind the policy change is political attention grabbing: unfairly channeling the housing crisis anger towards the very small short-term rental sector.

In reality, the short-term rental industry is not the behemoth the policy makers make it out to be: prior to the COVID outbreak, there were only 9,100 listings in Toronto -- which includes private room accommodations and entire home accommodations. Many of those would never have entered the long term rental market in the first place. 

Yet, in the face of these challenges, I suggest we be optimistic. Next year, many new condos are expected to be completed and released onto the market, giving Toronto additional housing options. Consequently, the political motivations driving the proposed bylaw recommendations will diminish. With luck, there will be less irrational hate against short-term rental operators -- aka the "little guy". 

What changes and suggestions did the participants propose?

After the presentation, the City Bylaw officers split the participants into circle groups. Apart from a general consensus that the 180-day limit was an unfair and nonsensical imposition, the common themes brought up were: 

• a general dissatisfaction with the city's support system, 
• difficulties in reaching bylaw officers, 
• a desire for more automation in the application process, 
• concerns about unjust permit revocations, and
• the importance of a balanced approach that respects both regulations and property rights. 
• Participants also argued that targeting short-term rental hosts was not the solution to the housing crisis. With how large the crisis truly is, switching the small number of Airbnb properties into long-term rentals would hardly make much of a change. 

Forecast - Can we expect a positive outcome?

The impact of proposed changes to Toronto's Short-Term Rental Bylaws on the community will vary depending on whether the Private Room accommodation limit will be lowered to 180 days per year or not. While its implementation would be unwelcome, the suggestion faced strong opposition from meeting participants and as a result will not likely be presented to the City. The other proposed restrictions, such as limiting registrations and automating reservation cancellations for noncompliant operators, might have minimal effects on the hosting community and could even reduce competition and increase profits for complaint hosts. All in all, I think hosts can hope for minimal impact to their Airbnb rental businesses.

When will the City announce the official changes?

The timeline for the new changes is uncertain; the Bylaw committee is expected to present their thoughts to the City in early 2024. However, the definitive implementation of any modifications may take up to a year. 

Final Thoughts

As someone who works in the industry, I am feeling optimistic about the future of Toronto short-term renting. While I can completely comprehend the fear many homeowners currently have of maybe losing their home and their additional income source from Airbnb, the City seems to be more preoccupied with stopping the “unicorn” investors. The regulations current and proposed are mostly aimed at preventing this insignificant minority, so compliant hosts should not be too worried. Change can sometimes be a hindrance, but it can also create opportunities. With every measure to limit illegal short-term renting, compliant hosts get the advantage and the ability to have a more stable income with a better regulated market.