Report about HRM out next week

Short-term rentals (Airbnbs) have removed more than 740 housing units or nearly 38 per cent of rental units from Halifax Regional Municipality in the last year, a report to be released Tuesday will reveal.

Prof. David Wachsmuth, of McGill University, a leading expert in the impact of short-term rentals on cities and housing markets, will present his report about the HRM situation Thursday at a 6:30 p.m. public meeting at the Central Library in Halifax.

Bill Stewart, spokesman for the Neighbours Speak Up group that originated in north-end Halifax, said the report will identify 2,400 active short-term rentals in HRM as of Aug. 31, a 19.2 per cent increase over last year.

Revenue from short-term rentals in HRM reached $30.9 million in the last 12 months. The report will also show a vacancy rate in HRM of 1.6 per cent and one per cent in central Halifax. If commercial shortterm rentals were converted back to long-term housing, the vacancy rates would move to 2.8 per cent in HRM and three per cent in central Halifax.

Meanwhile, both HRM and the province released online surveys about short-term rentals. The provincial survey, found at https://novascotia.ca/shortterm-rentals, seeks public feedback before a Nov. 20 deadline to assist in creating regulations to support the new Tourist Accommodations Registration Act.

“Short-term rentals are having a serious impact on peoples' ability to find a place to live,” NDP housing spokeswoman Lisa Roberts said in a release. “We need to act more quickly and with a clear focus to ensure people can still live in our towns and cities, not just visit.”