London city hall looks at proposal to crack down on Airbnb amid housing crisis
CBC
A city hall committee will examine proposals Tuesday to significantly regulate Airbnb and other online home rental services in London, Ont., with possible licensing, fees and taxes — part of a growing effort to regulate home sharing in the city.
The proposals aim to prevent tenants and condo owners from illegally renting their homes for a few days at a time to short-term workers or tourists without the knowledge of their landlords or condo boards, a trend a city hall report says is only aggravating the housing crisis because short-term rentals are more lucrative than long-term ones.
Online hosts would be required to obtain a licence for the property where the short-term rental takes place in order to prevent what the report calls "destructive, headline-grabbing parties," such as the high-profile blowout in 2019 that resulted in nine arrests and $80,000 worth of damage to a London home.
Licensing would require applicants to prove the property is their home in order to prevent commercial operators from ducking regulations aimed at hotels and motels, the recommendations said. It would also allow bylaw officers to ensure the property is up to code.
More to come
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