Toronto approves new Airbnb rules

Toronto city council has approved regulations for short-term rentals in the city that would apply to such services as Airbnb.

The rules allow the rental of a principal residence only and homeowners won’t be allowed to list secondary suites, such as a basement apartment, for shortterm rental.

Entire home rentals will be capped at 180 days a year.

The city will create a registry of short-term rental landlords who would have to declare that their rental property was their principle residence and pay an annual fee of $50.

Around 10,800 Airbnbs were rented out in Toronto in 2016 and the company estimates that over three quarters of their Toronto landlords are renting out space in their principal residence.