Maroc - STOREYS.COM - A La Une - 16/Dec 21:36

City Of Calgary Considering "Proactive Measures" Against Short-Term Rentals

On the heels of numerous other North American cities taking action against short-term rentals, Calgary City Council will be considering its own approach to short-term rentals during this week's council meeting.City Administration has presented a series of policy recommendations that were the product of a two-part public engagement campaign launched in October 2023 by the City and the University of Calgary. "The landscape of the market and the policy context have both evolved since Calgary adopted rules for short-term rentals in 2020," said University of Calgary Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Lindsay Tedds in a press release then. "Through this research partnership with The City, we are developing a data-driven and engagement-informed understanding of the market and the opportunities and pressures it creates. As importantly, we are mobilizing this knowledge to set out implementable policy advice to inform how Calgary manages short-term rentals." Phase One of the study concluded on December 31, 2023, while Phase Two was launched on August 26 and concluded on September 30. According to a Planning & Development Services report dated December 5, the study found that there are approximately 5,000 short-term rental listings in Calgary, which represents less than 1.0% of all residential properties in Calgary. The study found that the short-term rental market has been growing steadily since 2017, that most short-term rentals are non-permanent, and that there is a seasonal pattern that sees listings spike in July around the time of the Calgary Stampede.The study — based on public surveys, focus groups, and interviews with the industry — also found that short-term rentals "serve a need beyond tourism in Calgary as they enable more choices for Calgarians and visitors, including providing temporary accommodation for individuals travelling to Calgary for medical purposes, local Calgarians transitioning between homes, new Calgarians in the process of relocating to Calgary and transitory workers." The study also recognized that although restricting short-term rentals may return some properties to the long-term rental market, "there is no conclusive evidence that such restrictions will lead to a decrease in long-term rental prices." "Proactive Measures""Although the Short-Term Rental Study reported that short-term rentals are not a significant issue in Calgary at this time, Administration recommends adopting some proactive measures to ensure short-term rentals do not become a concern in the future," said Administration in the report. Administration says it wants to avoid "overly restrictive regulations" and is recommending an approach that supports the City's overall housing strategy, maintains some of the economic benefits for the tourism and accommodations sector, strengthens guest and community safety, and increases regulatory compliance. As such, Administration has made the following policy recommendations:"Introduce Primary and Non-Primary Residence business licences with associated fees"Since 2020, business licence fees for short-term rentals have been charged on a tier system. Properties offering up to four rooms for rent have to pay $100 per property, while those offering over five rooms are charged $172 per property. Since April 2024, both are also required to pay $110 for a fire inspection. Administration is now recommending a new fee system that is based on whether the short-term rental is being offered in the owner's primary residence or a non-primary residence. For primary residences, $172 would be charged for a new licence while $131 would be charged for a renewal. For non-primary residences, $510 would be charged for a new licence while $260 would be charged for a renewal."The classification of non-primary residences as a distinct tier acknowledges their commercial nature, differentiating them from primary residence short-term rentals," said Administration. "Primary residence short-term rentals are likely to have less influence on long-term rental markets and rental prices or be returned to the long-term rental market." "Business licence moratorium on new Non-Primary Residences when vacancy rate below 2.5%"Administration is also recommending a temporary pause on issuing new short-term rental licenses for non-primary residences when the city's rental market vacancy rate falls below 2.5%. The vacancy rate would be based on the CMHC's annual rental market report, the most recent of which identified the vacancy rate in Calgary at 1.4%."Anchoring the moratorium to a vacancy rate of 2.5%, which is well above the vacancy rate at the time a housing crisis was declared, ensures we support the housing strategy while balancing the accommodation sector, tourism and economic benefits of short-term rentals," Administration said."Extend the definition of ‘short-term rental’ to cover up to 180 days"Under the City of Calgary's current definition, a short-term rental is defined as a temporary accommodation provided for a duration of up to 30 consecutive days. However, the City says that there is an "emerging unregulated medium-term rental market" where hosts are offering properties for durations of over 30 days, making them essentially unregulated.Administration is now proposing its definition be amended to extend to 180 days, which will allow for better regulatory oversight of the short-term rental market. "Licence short-term rental digital platforms"In addition to the new licence fee system for operators, Administration is also recommending that a licence system be introduced for digital platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo. This change would introduce a new category under the City's Business Licence Bylaw and licenses for those platforms would carry an annual fee of $3,000. Aside from the fee, this change would also require those platforms to share its data with the City, which includes various benefits such as promoting accountability and transparency, improving cooperation towards enforcement, and enabling the identification of non-compliant listings. The new proposed licence fees for short-term rental operators and digital platforms. / City of Calgary"Restrict short-term rentals in affordable housing"In an effort to reinforce the intent of affordable housing, Administration is recommending that short-term rentals be outright banned in affordable housing, to ensure that affordable housing is not commercialized.Such affordable housing includes non-market housing offered either as rental or ownership for income groups that are not served by the private market, including those owned by non-profits, provided with subsidized rents, or those offered on geared-to-income models."Form a short-term rental steering committee"Administration is also recommending that a new committee be formed that will be focused on short-term rentals. This steering committee would included internal partners and partnering agencies such as Calgary Fire, Business Safety, Community Standards, Housing Solutions, and others.Such a committee would "grow and continuously improve the shared data across the agencies" while creating a "collaborated approach to addressing emerging issues, enforcement, and support for future regulatory amendments as required.""Explore short-term rental property tax subclass for Non-Primary Residences"Lastly, Administration is recommending that a new property tax subclass be introduced for short-term rentals in non-primary residences.This change "recognizes the commercial nature of short-term rentals in non-primary residences" and "levels the playing field for commercialized short-term rentals with the hospitality sector."While all of the aforementioned changes can be made with an amendment to the Business Licence Bylaw, the property tax change would require more work before implementation, according to Administration.Council will be considering these recommendations at its meeting on Tuesday, December 17, which starts at 9:30 am.