Airbnb and Mississauga Condos – Shape of things to come?

Airbnb and Mississauga Condos – Can this business be soon allowed at Mississauga Condos?

Let’s first look at the conditions likely to lead to this scenario and how the existing Airbnb markets in Canada are performing.

New rental rules imposed by the Ontario government and many other reforms under review are all aiming to better regulate the rental markets across Canada. Some measures impact Airbnb operations as well. Airbnb’s director of Canadian public policy, Alex Dagg, has stated that it is open to regulation provided there are no rushed regulations and that the new rules don’t penalize casual users. Airbnb states that it needs to be recognized that not every host runs a full-fledged business.

Many homeowners or tenants use the Airbnb platform to rent out a portion of or their home to earn some extra cash. The hotel industry is quick to find a flaw in this saying that they are not governed by regulations or pay same taxes. There are others who feel Airbnb is adding to existing housing problems for tenants in cities with already low vacancy rates and high home ownership costs.

Vancouver Airbnb Market

Vancouver is considering a home-sharing bylaw, which if approved, could take effect in April 2018 and require hosts to have a licence that costs $49 each year and to only rent out their primary residence. The logic behind this is that this step will protect existing long-term rental housing and potentially add new units to a heated rental market.

Dagg wants Vancouver to consider allowing Airbnb rentals in certain situations where a owner’s primary residence is outside of the city. To give an example, if someone’s primary residence is Vancouver Island, but they also own a condo in Vancouver to live during the weekdays, Dagg says that they should be allowed to continue renting it out on weekends.

“It’s complicated,” she said, and that the system requires carefully thought out regulations.

Toronto Airbnb Market

Last week, Airbnb announced that Neptune Waterpark Condos in Toronto will allow residents to rent their primary residence in the building using Airbnb. The company states that the arrangement could help ease condo board concern about security as it provides the management access to a guest registry.

Toronto City recently undertook public consultations through a survey on the proposed home-sharing regulations. Toronto wants to allow people to rent their principal residence, but not for more than 28 consecutive days. Hosts will also have to register with the City at a cost of $40 to $150 per year. The City plans to hold committee meetings to vote on the regulations. If passed, the regulations will then head to council sometime in early December.

Airbnb and Mississauga Condos – Our Two Cents

To change the rules of a condo building (amending the declaration) in order to allow short term rental business requires the support 80% of the owners. This can be a daunting task for existing condos. But future buildings can certainly put this in their declaration at the very outset. This will allow people to conduct Airbnb type of business as soon as the building gets registered.

We feel that it is just a matter of time that Airbnb and Mississauga condos can help address both short term and long term rental needs in Mississauga. It is simply a demand and supply dynamic. Mississauga is a major destination for newcomers to Canada. There are many people who look for a short term accommodation at Mississauga Square One. They include visiting parents of students studying here, newly landed immigrants, people on work permits, corporate executives and many other short term rental seekers. A furnished accommodation is a plus point before some of these people opt to settle down into a permanent long term accommodation.