Do you own a short-term rental in Innisfil?
You will soon need to pay a special tax and obtain a license in order to rent out your property.
In the Innisfil Council meeting on Aug. 11, councillors directed staff to implement a Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) on all short-term accommodations (STAs), and develop a licensing system to regulate them.
Due to Innisfil’s location as a cottage and recreation destination by the water, the town is a popular destination for many looking for short-term rentals.
Data from AirDna shows there are currently 226 active listings in Innisfil on property rental sites AirBnB and Vrbo, with the majority of them clustered around Friday Harbour Resort.
In June and July 2021, a STA survey was posted on the town’s website with 160 responses. Half the respondents supported the idea of licensing STAs. Many respondents indicated they would rather a complete prohibition of STAs in Innisfil, however, staff feel it would be difficult to enforce a total ban as opposed to a licensing by-law. It would also have a negative impact on the local economy.
In March 2020, council received a report outlining the considerations and potential options for regulating STAs in town, which included an assessment of the approaches that other municipalities in Canada have taken to regulate their rental properties.
In September 2019, council also looked at a report from staff on the province’s four per cent tax that was introduced in 2017 for STAs. Municipalities are able to impose this tax on STAs that are occupied for less than 30 days at a time. The MAT requires the funds received to be distributed and spent through an agreement with Tourism Simcoe County to help enhance tourism in the area.
After reviewing both reports, staff has put forward its own recommendations for council with an approach to regulate STAs more formally in Innisfil.
“The overall intent of this approach will be to achieve more of a balance between the financial benefits that STA operators receive, against the impact that STAs may have on surrounding neighbourhoods. Furthermore, a MAT will provide a fund to help offset the impacts of STAs within the neighbourhoods most impacted,” read the report to council.
The licensing by-law would give the town the authority to license the operation of STAs, including monitoring the number of STAs and regulating and charging a licensing fee for operations.
"I think with COVID our AirBnB situation got totally out of control," said Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson, noting that police and by-law received numerous calls from residents about "illegal BnBs."
He called the code of conduct proposal from staff a good start.
"I think we can tighten it up a bit to make it more unique to Innisfil," he said about the report. "I think the cottage lifestyle is being abused."
He wants to see similar policies to Mississauga's short-term rental by-law, including a criminal record check to rent out a property, and give police and by-law have the right to enter a property when it is being used as an Air BnB.
He noted cleaning companies who come to clean the properties have been using all the town's waste buckets, dumping the Air BnB garbage inside them. He wants to see a policy about disposing of waste included in the next report.
He wants to see the report updated with restrictions so residents are respected by people who use Air BnBs.
"Let's just keep working on it, we don't have it perfect yet," he said.
Coun. Bill Van Berkel agreed with the deputy mayor.
He noted many rentals in his ward are in both the subdivisions and cottages near the lake, but it's the cottages that pose the most problems for residents.
"They (the renters) are there to party, and party only," he said, adding that many will often set off fireworks during their stay.
"And the poor neighbours can't sleep because they are partying 'til three in the morning," he said.
He said the report was good, but needed to be "tougher" in terms of licensing and fines.
Coun. Alex Waters appreciated the report but agreed there were other things the town could be doing, including cracking down on those who own and rent out multiple rental properties.
"These are purely profit-motivated," he said, noting that people who purchase multiple properties with an intent to rent drive up the cost of homes, affecting affordability.
"I think we should seriously look at the idea of it being principle owned by the person, they have to live there," he suggested.
Waters noted how AirBnB has been working to remove "party houses" from their listings and wondered if the town has been in talks with other rental platforms about doing the same.
Senior Policy Planner for the town, Paul Pentikainen confirmed they would reach out to other stakeholders to work on removing the party listings.
Mayor Lynn Dollin liked the idea of limiting the number of occupants based on the number of rooms available.
She suggested the MAT could be used for the beautification of the town, including fixing the main streets aesthetically.
Pentikainen appreciated the feedback from council to further develop the tax and licensing policy.
Waters wondered if it was possible to exclude the Friday Harbour Resort properties from the proposed tax and by-law since many have purchased at the resort for the purpose of renting.
Mary Nordstrom, manager land use planning for the town, noted staff would take into account the short-term accommodation rentals at the resort and the recent zoning by-law update that will commence later this year for shoreline properties at Friday Harbour.
Council voted in favour of the recommendation from staff.
To view the full report, click here.
