Start of new Airbnb rules in Toronto delayed at least a year

The City of Toronto won't be cracking down on short-term rental operators (read: Airbnb-lords) who book out apartments they don't live in this year, after all.

Good news for people with a stable of cheap units at City Place, but not the best news for Toronto's already hard up rental market.

Councillors voted 40-3 last December in favour of a "registration and licensing program" for all short-term rental activity in Toronto.

The city's Licensing and Standards Committee explained in a report recommending the idea late last year that these unregulated, so-called "ghost hotels" are having negative impacts on housing affordability and availability.

The rules, which should have come into effect this summer, would have required anyone renting out a short-term space — which would have to be a full home that they live in — to register with the city for an annual fee of $50.

It would also restrict the amount of time they could rent their spaces out to 180 nights.

That's not going to happen, however — at least not for some time, thanks to the postponement of an appeal tribunal contesting the city's vote.

The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (OMB replacement) figured it needed an extra three days to consider appeals to Toronto’s Airbnb regulations, so the whole thing got delayed by a YEAR. https://t.co/rT6895JVEk pic.twitter.com/zk1NQXwIYq

— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) September 4, 2018

Toronto's Local Planning Appeal Tribunal was scheduled for two days last week, according to The Star, but when it was learned that this situation would take five days to resolve, the tribunal was rescheduled "for the next date when a hearing room, the adjudicators and all parties involved were available."

They'll be meeting again to discuss the manner on Aug. 26, 2019 — nearly an entire year away.

Then, the tribunal could then take up to eight weeks to release its decision while long-term rental units dwindle in the shadow of more lucrative Airbnb-type situations.