Municipalities across P.E.I. grapple with short-term rental regulations

Now that Charlottetown has approved regulations for short-term rentals,some other communities in Prince Edward Island are looking at the issue as well, but no municipalities are expected to make any big rule changes soon.

Those changes to Charlottetown's zoning and development rules mean that any short-term rental must be a primary residence. Owners will not be allowed to have multiple properties, and apartments will not be allowed.

Cornwall and Stratford are neighbouring communities to Charlottetown, and theircouncils will be looking into what's needed.

"I would like to see some sort of policy or bylaw or resolution come forward," said Jill MacIsaac,the chair of planning for Cornwall.

She saidshehas heardcomplaints from residents about parkingandnoise at short-term rental properties. Shesaid council will considerhow short-term rentals affect residents with neighbouring properties.

"What does that look like for a resident in that neighbourhood?" she said.

She said if someone is rentingtheir property to visitors, tax brackets should be considered too.

"Somebody else next door may be paying the same amount of tax, but making an income on that property," she said.

She said Cornwall is short of all types of housing, and expects council to be discussing the issue for many months.

Stratford waiting on resident survey

Stratfordhas included a question on short-term rentals in its annualresident survey. The survey asks residents if they would support Stratford regulating STRs.

"We're watching with great interest how Charlottetown is proceeding and we're learning from that," said Mayor Steve Ogden.

Ogden said council willbase any decisionson responses from residents.

He said he's only had a few complaints about short-term rentals and council is still waiting to determine if regulating them should be a priority. He said the town is just at the initial stage of seeking public input.

"It's a source of income for people, but neighbourhoods are sometimes not designed for what's basically a hotel operating in their area," he said.

"It's a very complex issue," he noted.

'A non-issue':Summerside,Three Rivers

Summerside Coun. Carrie Adams,who is also on the planning committee, said council doesn't see short-term rentalsas an issue.

"We are not seeing short-term rentals having an impact in our city at the moment," she said.

Summerside council reviewed the issueof STRslast year, but Adams said its hasn'treceived any complaints, sothere areno plans for the city to regulate.

Three Rivers MayorEd MacAulaysaid he knows there are homeowners who offer their homes for rent on platforms like AirbnborVRBO,but it hasn't been a problem.

"The short-term rentals don't block our housing like they do in the larger centres," he said.

MacAulaysaid short-term rentals have been discussed at counciland the issue will likely be monitored.

He believes more housing is the answer to the area's housing shortage, as opposed to regulation of short-term rentals.

STRs 'longtime fixture' in Cavendish area

Matthew Jelley isthe mayor of the Resort Municipality, which includes Cavendish and other nearby communities along the well-known North Shore which is popular with tourists.

"In Cavendish's case, short-term rentals have been a longtime fixture,"said Jelley. "It supports our goal of having more housing in the community."

Any unregulated business needs regulation. Connor Kelly

Jelley said each community has to address STR regulationin its own way, but as a vacation destination area he said the resort municipality is in a different scenario.

The municipality does regulate STRs through "change of use"applications,if someone wants to turn their home or cottage into a rental.

"Vacation homes, rental homes, second homes have always been a part of the community,"he said. "There's no plan to create an owner-occupied requirement."

He said it can sometimes help bring ownersback to the area to live long-term, when they retire and turn their short-term rentalinto a full-time home.

Rules needed in all communities: Advocate

Connor Kellyis the tenant network co-ordinator with the P.E.I Fight for Affordable Housing and Cooper Institute.

He would like to see other communities in P.E.I. adoptrules similar to Charlottetown's, including the stipulation that short-term rentalsbe owner-occupied.

He said communities should be seeking input fromresidents on the issue and not just assume it's not a problem because they haven't received complaints.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it's an issue in Summerside, in Cornwall and Stratford," Kelly said."Any unregulated business needs regulation."