The Municipality of Central Elgin’s new bylaw requiring property owners to obtain a licence to list on short-term rental apps like Airbnb and Vrbo, is now in place and it’s getting mixed reaction from landlords.
The bylaw, which was passed over the summer, took effect on Jan. 1 and municipal officials say they’ve already received as many as 40 applications from landlords in Port Stanley, a town that draws thousands of beachgoers, tourists and cottage dwellers annually.
“We are well on our way processing and certainly there are more units that will come online as we get closer to the summer,” Central Elgin’s clerk Delany Leitch said.
Owners must now have a valid licence before they advertise, market, or rent out a property. The initial application costs $300, plus an annual fee of $650 per unit. A fire inspection is also required, along with a written attestation that the building complies with the Building Code Act.
Although property owners have raised concerns about affordability and a possible dip in tourism, some say the bylaw’s safety component will benefit both renters and operators in the long run.
“Initially, I thought more government interference is not what we need but after being on a panel when they were planning it, they convinced me that it’s not the worst thing, it’s just making sure our guests are safe and have proper egress,” said Jeff West, a local realtor who rents out his three-bedroom cottage in Port Stanley.
“It’s a good thing to have them check and make sure those things are done properly to keep everybody safe who is staying in your place.”
The bylaw defines a short-term rental as a dwelling rented to the public for less than 28 consecutive days, including bed and breakfasts, hostels, and rooming and boarding houses.
Approximately 150 private dwellings in the municipality are short-term rentals, with that number climbing up to 250 during peak season.
Applicants also have to submit exterior photos of the rental, a site and floor plan of the property indicating the location, number of bedrooms, egress points, and parking areas, among others.
“We all want to make sure there are basic standards and requirements that everyone can expect when you stay at a unit in Central Elgin, similar to those that are followed by our hotel and motel operators,” said Leitch.
Christopher Evans has been renting his Port Stanley cottage on Airbnb for three years now. He believes the additional fees add to the financial challenges many homeowners are grappling with especially in a town where rentals are more seasonal.
“It’s just so tight these days and more fees just turns into more headaches, especially for property owners as we already have extremely high property taxes,” he said.
“And the fact that these properties aren’t rented year-round, we’re struggling to pay mortgages a lot of the time throughout the year in the off-season. Things are busy for the summer, but the rest of the year is very slow.”
Central Elgin officials say the program will be revenue-neutral for the municipality but Evans predicts some landlords might have to raise rental fees to make up for costs, he said.
“I still have difficulty with the licensing fee which they’re saying is going towards bylaw enforcement, but we already pay taxes for that,” said West, who wants to know if there will be more bylaw officers hired to deal specifically with short-term rentals.
Central Elgin also has a new online interactive map where visitors can verify if a property is licenced and compliant with municipal standards by typing in the address.
Residents can also report issues such as unauthorized short-term rental activity, noise complaints, and parking-related concerns online or by calling a 24-hour hotline.
“We wanted to create a tool that’s public facing where neighbors are able to confirm whether residences close to them are operating as licensed short term rentals,” said Leitch.
West welcomes this development, adding that it will provide transparency to renters and help promote available listings. He knows of a few property owners who will not apply for the licence and will instead sell their properties due to the bylaw.
Central Elgin is taking an “education-first” approach and wants to continue asking landlords for input, said Leitch, adding that her team is now trying to reach a broader crowd of operators outside the municipality in nearby London and St. Thomas.
Central Elgin joins London, Kitchener, Windsor, and several other lakeside municipalities, including Amherstburg, Bluewater, and Lambton Shores, in regulating short-term rentals.
