VRMA Administrator
The city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is now enforcing a 180-night maximum allowance for short-term rentals via a bylaw instituted in 2019 to limit short-term rental activity to principal residences. Operators had until Dec. 31, 2020, to comply with the bylaw. A Toronto spokesperson said a compliance team has been tasked with tracking data from short-term rental companies with regard to violations of the allowance. “If operators are not compliant with this requirement, the City issues a 'takedown' notice to remove short-term rental listings, and the short-term rental company informs the operators of the reasons their listings were removed,” they stated. “Operators are responsible for monitoring the total number of nights (whether on one platform or across multiple platforms) their short-term rentals are rented out and ensuring they are compliant with the bylaw. Failure to comply with the bylaw may lead to the revocation of an operator's registration.” Toronto's website said violators of this rule can face a C$700 fine. Moreover, the compliance team is delisting properties lacking a valid registration number, using data discovery techniques and working closely with Airbnb and Booking.com. Failing to properly register a short-term rental carries a C$1,000 fine, which could increase to C$100,000 if operators are issued a court summons and convicted.
Storeys (12/22/22)
