London, Ontario Uses AI to Find Short-Term Rental Violations

London, Ontario (Canada) officials are using an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to identify short-term rental (STR) landlords that violate the city’s regulations, reports Kate Dubinski for CBC News.

According to the article, “London has 268 active, licenced short-term-rental listings, largely on platforms such as AirBnB and Vrbo. Another 28 applications for licences are pending, officials say.” No applications for new licenses were denied this year, say officials.

Since 2022, new rules require owner occupancy and prohibit the ownership of more than one short-term rental property within the city. The AI software scrapes online data and cross-checks local records to flag potential violations, a task that previously took officials much longer. According to city manager Nicole Musicco, “In the past, bylaw officers would have to rent a short-term accommodation to get the address, and then go inspect it.” 

However, the software has limitations. For example, it can’t identify landlords who rent in other people’s names or alter documents to change addresses. In Ontario, an STR rental can generate as much as six times the average revenue of a long-term rental unit.