City looks to rein in Airbnb as neighbours wait in worry
Absentee landlords, ‘ghost hotels,’ loss of housing concern critics of unregulated short-term rentals
Sometime in September, residents on leafy Spruce St. grew alarmed after noticing a parade of suitcase-toting Airbnb guests coming and going from a recently sold elegant three-storey Victorian-era home. They’re not against the home-sharing concept. “But when you’re turning a residential home into a commercial hotel, that’s crossing the line,” said one neighbour who asked not to be identified to avoid a “war” with owner Jie Ding.
Ding bought the Cabbagetown property in August, carved up the former single-family dwelling and installed a keypad on the front door. A sign inside instructs visitors to “please keep the doors locked.”
Ding doesn’t live there, which means the three Airbnb listings ($117 to $138 a night) and thousands of other such properties in Toronto will soon be illegal if council adopts city staff recommendations limiting short-term rentals to a person’s primary residence.
Starting next week, the regulations will be the subject of intense focus at city hall where two committees will discuss zoning and licensing proposals.
But residents on Spruce St. and Fairbnb, the hospitality workers’ union-backed coalition, aren’t convinced the city’s proposals go far enough to do what they’re designed to: prevent Airbnb from reducing Toronto’s already-scarce long-term-housing rental supply.
They point to a glaring loophole. Short-term-rental operators must register with the city, provide basic information and “declare” the address is the principal residence — they don’t have to prove it. The proposals say only that the city “can audit any registered operator and request proof of principal residence.”
“This non-requirement only gestures at regulation,” says Thorben Wieditz, of Fairbnb.
“To stop the spread of ghost hotels, absentee landlords and investors need to be weeded out at the very beginning. For us, actual proof of principal residence is non-negotiable.”
ACanadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report on Airbnb regulation concurred. Depending on Airbnb hosts to self-certify is too lenient, and will allow “commercial activity to slip through the cracks,” the June 2017 report reads.
“Multiple hosts can simply obtain licences for several residences under different people ‘self-certifying’ without providing necessary proof.” The Spruce St. neighbour shares the pessimism. “If there’s no mechanism to prove it, how is this regulation going to have any effect?” he asked. “Why not falsely declare and just keep on with the business,” and avoid the additional red tape and tax measures that are coming.
Fairbnb’s Wieditz says Toronto should avoid the mistake of other jurisdictions of passing inadequate regulations.
Only San Francisco, Airbnb’s hometown, provides a model for regulators around the world.
Wieditz wrote a report calling on Canadian cities to ensure Airbnb is held accountable and liable for illegal properties advertised on its website.
In San Francisco, Airbnb hosts are required to provide proof they are the principal resident by submitting a current driver’s licence or state-issued ID card and one other document, such as a voter registration card or proof of car insurance.
Also, neighbours within about 100 metres of a proposed short-term rental must be notified.
“This not only gives them a headsup in the spirit of community, but also provides them with a chance to approach the city to say that a person who applied for a short-term-rental permit actually doesn’t live in that home,” Wieditz explained.
“It allows neighbours to know what is going on in their neighbourhood or condo tower and presents a mechanism to ensure that only principal residences will be used for shortterm rental purposes.”
Once the city’s regulations are enacted, Cabbagetown residents hope Ding or a family member move into 48 Spruce, register with the city and comply with the new rules and pay whatever taxes and fees are imposed.
Ding said he is aware a short-termrental regime is coming and plans to move in.
He told the Star he bought the house for his daughter Jessica, who is attending York University and is currently pictured as the Airbnb host.
He is also a director of a numbered Ontario company that recently bought a stand-alone building at 600 Parliament St. that has a laundromat storefront and an Airbnb rental upstairs.
Having the owner live on site “would make all the difference,” his Cabbagetown neighbour said.