VRMA Administrator
The Regional Council of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, has opted to defer the matter of deciding on short-term rental regulation until the spring as it gathers more data. Resident Bill Stewart is disappointed, saying, "For them to spend months and months trying to find data that is not going to change the picture any is a real waste of time." Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) Deputy Mayor Sam Austin also expressed frustration, but said another few months is hardly unacceptable. "The idea that you can basically take an apartment building and just make it into a hotel when it's in a residential zone, without commercial zoning or commercial taxing or any of that kind of thing," he said. "I mean, that's never made any sense to me." Stewart said there are roughly 1,900 short-term rentals presently being advertised in HRM that are not primary residences, which could help with the ongoing housing shortfall. "I'm very concerned that some of these new buildings and structures we're seeing are going to be sitting ducks for short-term rentals when things aren't going so well for the property owners," he noted. New rules will have to wait until city staff furnish an updated information report in April.
Global News (Canada) (12/16/22) Megan King
