Item - 2016.EX18.12

The Executive Committee:

1. Directed the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards and the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report no later than the end of the second quarter of 2017 with proposed regulations for short-term rentals.

Residents and property owners are renting out rooms or entire units for short periods in growing numbers across Toronto, facilitated by the rise of online platforms like Airbnb. For the purposes of this report, we call this type of activity a "short-term rental". According to Airbnb, 9,460 rooms or entire units in Toronto were rented on the platform in 2015; this has doubled since 2014. Residents and stakeholders have identified four key areas of concern relating to short-term rentals: impacts on neighbourhoods; impacts on housing affordability; impacts on tourism; and impacts on taxation.

This report describes the short-term rental market, the existing regulatory context, the tax requirements applicable to short-term rentals and the municipal issues that have been identified to date regarding short-term rentals. The report also outlines the planned work for staff to conduct further research into the issues, consult the public and key stakeholders regarding short-term rentals, and explore potential options for regulation. Staff will report back in 2017 on the results of the work described in this report and options for regulating short-term rentals in Toronto.

The following divisions were consulted in the preparation of this report: Social Development, Finance and Administration; Corporate Finance; Toronto Fire Services; Toronto Building; Shelter, Support and Housing Administration; Affordable Housing Office; Economic Development and Culture; Revenue Services; and Legal Services.