If it seems like short-term rental talk in Tiny Township is around one-tenth of what it normally seems, there could be a good reason for that.
According to a verbal report provided by Fire Chief Dave Flewelling at the recent committee of the whole meeting, 262 applications were filed for short-term rentals (STR) under the new licensing bylaw program implemented on Jan. 1 of this year.
However, only 12 per cent of applications had been approved as of the update, which Flewelling assured council that municipal staff were working diligently to address.
A preliminary review is required under the bylaw, whereupon a checklist of items are looked at for compliance prior to approval of an STR licence.
“Following this preliminary review basically all the applications have been found to be deficient in one manner or another, ranging from building code and septic infractions to simply missing pertinent information like insurance confirmation documents or missing items on the site plan or floor plan," said Flewelling.
“And all of these items are required to complete the application review and approval process," he explained.
“Approximately 50 per cent of the applications indicate more bedrooms than the septic use permit permits, meaning that over time people have added or converted rooms to bedrooms in a home without permits, inspections, or septic modifications to accommodate the added flows unless these bedrooms were contemplated and planned for originally," said Flewelling.
Each preliminary review is examined by three departments: the planning and building department for compliance involving bedrooms and septic capacity; a site inspection by the fire department and fire inspection officer; and the licensing officer through chief municipal bylaw enforcement officer Steve Harvey.
When the bylaw was drafted in late 2022, roughly 400 STRs had been identified as operating in the township. Council placed a hard cap of 300 on applications to reduce unqualified applicants with an issuance of licences slowly to follow. Additionally a $1,500 flat licensing fee to applicants was intended to lift the burden from ratepayers onto STR licence holders exclusively.
Being the first year that the STR licensing bylaw has been introduced and despite vocal opposition from both sides of the issue, Flewelling assured council that efforts were made to speed up the application process after the revelation that most cases required further effort to resolve.
“Staff cannot stress enough that no one had anticipated having this many applications with outstanding issues,” said Flewelling. “We can assure council that we will be able to eat this elephant; it will be one bite at a time, but we will make sure we get it right.”
The report was provided during an update on the municipal law enforcement statistics for the Victoria Day long weekend in May as provided by Harvey, who gave focus to the STR issue.
Of 81 complaints received on the holiday weekend, 14 were related to STRs comprised of six unlicenced complaints, three for rentals shorter than the bylaw regulations, three for real estate advertising, one police matter, and one for occupancy limits.
“We are seeing a significant increase in complaints and staff are responding to them as quickly as possible,” stated Harvey. “I would also ask the assistance of the public in making sure that they report the concerns they have to the appropriate agency.”
Following a question by Coun. Kelly Helowka on how staff and residents could be more proactive against “a few really bad actors in the township” that should be targeted, Harvey advised concerned residents that reporting an STR complaint through the township phone number or provided web page, if done in a timely manner when the occurrence is noted, would allow police to handle police matters and bylaw officers for bylaw infractions.
“There are a number of open investigations (that will) most likely will lead to charges, others are already moved to work orders and subsequently will be demerit points, and there’s others that will very soon be receiving additional charges or new charges in that regard,” Harvey noted.
Coun. Steffen Walma asked staff if contacting STR platform hosts directly could be done to inform potential renters of unlicenced STRs within the township, but was told that due to the large number of platforms beyond AirBnB and VRBO, it would most likely be up to informed renters themselves to “do the right thing and flag it for the next person” as Harvey explained.
CAO Robert Lamb added that through a one-on-one discussion at the 2022 AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) conference between former council and the AirBnB platform, “they have indicated that once our program is truly up and running, they will be happy to try to assist if we have issues.”
Detailed information for relevant bylaws, an interactive licence application map, submitting complaints and more can be located through the short-term rental page of the Tiny Township website.
The Victoria Day long weekend 2023 activity report, including statistics on short-term rental complaints, can be found in the agenda page located on the Tiny Township website.
Archives of council meetings are available to view on Tiny Township’s YouTube channel.
