On Monday, November 18, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) made its ruling in favour of zoning bylaw amendments which approves new regulations for Airbnb and short-term rentals in Toronto.
Back in December 2017, The Toronto City Council approved these zoning bylaw amendments to go into effect in June 2018, but the bylaws were put on hold due to LPAT appeals.
As an Airbnb or short-term rental operator, what are the new regulations to look out for?
You’re allowed to operate an Airbnb or short-term rental in any housing type in both residential and residential parts of mixed-use zones throughout the city of Toronto
You can host short-term rentals in your principal residence only -- both homeowners and tenants participate
You can rent up to 3 bedrooms or your entire residence
If you live in a secondary suite, you are allowed to participate as long as the secondary suite is your principal residence
If an owner/tenant is away, the whole home can be rented up to a maximum of 180 nights per year
If you operate an Airbnb or short-term rental, you must register with the City and pay $50
For those using companies such as Airbnb, you must pay a one-time license application fee of $5000 plus $1 per night booked through the company
Companies such as Airbnb must pay a one-time license application fee of $5,000 plus $1 for each night booked through the company.
You must pay a 4% Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) for rentals that are less than 28 consecutive days
Companies such as Airbnb can enter into voluntary agreements to collect the MAT on behalf of those associated with their company
When will the new regulations be in effect?
The city of Toronto says new information will be released in December 2019 detailing how licensing, registration, and the 4% MAT will work.
How will the city implement these new regulations?
At the moment, the city has not released details on how it will implement the new regulations other than any Airbnb and short-term rental operator will have to register with the city and obtain a license.
No timeline for these regulations has been released yet.