Ontario Upholds Toronto's Airbnb Regulations

"An Ontario tribunal has upheld Toronto regulations on short-term rentals that will restrict the most prolific hosts on Airbnb and other home-sharing services," reports Shane Dingman.

"The new rules apply to homeowners and tenants who want to offer rooms and homes for short-term rental on such services as Airbnb or VRBO. The regulations restrict short-term rentals to a homeowner’s principal residence, and then only to a maximum of 180 days a year."

Ontario's Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) had the power to determine whether the zoning regulations approved by Toronto to curtail "ghost hotel" operators were planned in good faith. According to Dingman, lawyers for the commercial operators subject to the regulations plan to appeal the LPAT's decision.

"There are about 21,000 short-term listings in the city, but local activists and researchers have argued that as many as 5,000 homes in Toronto have been permanently converted to short-stay accommodations," explains Dingman of the scope of short-term rental operations in the city.