City seeks solutions to short-term rental woes

The city is looking to rein in nuisance neighbours that come from short-term rentals.

At the urban planning committee meeting Tuesday, city officials heard from neighbours who complained their tranquil streets were being turned into loud party areas.

“We think it’s time for the City of Edmonton to take a look at developing a regulatory framework for short-term rentals for commercial operators,” said Tracy Douglas-Blowers, director of industry relations with the Alberta Hotel & Lodging Association.

“Not people who are renting out a room in their residence, but for people who are purchasing multiple properties, condominiums and single-family homes, and renting them out for the express purpose of generating profit for themselves.”

This is an issue around the world, she said. “It’s really an unintended consequence of the sharing economy and people are seeing this as an opportunity to capitalize and create a new revenue stream for themselves,” she said.

By passing regulations, municipalities cannot just preserve neighbourhood peace, but also create a level playing field for existing businesses that pay taxes and follow rules, she said.

Ward 9 Coun. Tim Cartmell said the city is looking into having short-term tools for specific concerns while working on a grander vision and regulatory environment in future.

“Airbnb lives on the internet,” he said. “We cannot start or stop them from coming to the city. They exist. Listing your property on Airbnb is no more difficult than getting a Google mail address.”

Short-term rental properties can be in single-family home neighbourhoods where the owner does not live on the property, he said.

The owner isn’t checking on who arrives, how many people show up and whether the person who actually rented the place is the one using it, he said. “We need to find a tool to fix that.”

Airbnb and Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO) websites are popular with homeowners to advertise their properties to a wider audience of renters, according to a committee memo.

The number of listings in Edmonton increased to more than 1,000 today from 44 in 2014.