Clearview Township to begin licensing short-term rental accommodations

Owners of an established bed-and- breakfast business near Duntroon are calling on Clearview Township to ensure a level playing field when they begin licensing short-term rental accommodations (STRAs).

Elaine Collier, of Avalon Clearview Studio B&B on County Road 124, said, “We’re not against short-term rentals, we just want to ensure there is some semblance of order in the way they are inspected. As B&B operators, we are subject to regular water, septic and fire inspections and we would hope similar requirements are imposed upon those operating short-term rentals.”

Collier was addressing a special council workshop held July 29 to review a draft short-term rental accommodation licensing bylaw.

Township clerk Sasha Helmkay- Playter told the meeting the goal is to have the bylaw in place by Jan. 1, 2027 and that the plan is to approve up to 150 licences. If the township receives more than 150 applications, a waitlist will be established.

The draft bylaw is the result of a collaborative effort between township departments including the bylaw enforcement team, economic development, fire and emergency services, parks and recreation, and planning.

For the purposes of this legislation, STRAs are defined as rentals of fewer than 28 days duration with no on-site management for all or part of the year. Conventional B&Bs are separately governed and will not fall under the bylaw.

Helmkay-Playter said key considerations as the bylaw was developed included noise and property standards, effect on housing stock and type, and concern for permanent residents versus transient guests. No STRAs will be permitted in condos, apartment buildings, townhouses or accessory dwellings within settlement areas (Creemore, Stayner, New Lowell, Nottawa).

The proposed licence fee is $650 per year.

“We wanted to keep the fee low enough as to not be a deterrent for owners,” said Helmkay-Playter. “The licensing fees will offset costs such as bylaw enforcement.”

Property owners will be required to keep a registry of renters and to ensure compliance with a Renters’ Code of Conduct which addresses concerns such as noise, use of fireworks, open- air burning and parking, and to provide the name and contact information for a responsible person who can be contacted within a specified time.

“Our first approach will be education versus enforcement,” says Helmkay-Playter, “but the bylaw does have provisions for fines and demerit points.”

Accumulation of demerit points may result in suspension or loss of a licence, in which case the operator might be forced back onto a wait list.

The fine for operating without a license will be $400, with the potential for additional fines under other bylaws. Fines for other offences will range from several hundred dollars up to $100,000.

Helmkay-Playter said that especially in the early stages, enforcement will be a combination of responding to complaints and spot inspections to educate operators and ensure compliance with all rules.

Councillor Phyllis Dineen suggested that township staff should periodically check listings for short- term rentals on sites such as Vrbo, Airbnb and Jayne’s Cottages and compare these with the list of licences granted.

Steve Collier, of Avalon B&B, cautioned council that inspections and enforcement will be vital.

“Short-term rentals can be quite lucrative, and a fine of a few hundred dollars may not be much of a deterrent,” he said. “There will be some greedy operators and they will be greedier and slipperier than you think.”

A municipal accommodation tax of four per cent will be levied on all STRAs, with at least 50 per cent of that revenue to be invested in destination marketing.

Township staff will report back to council with feedback from the workshop session in September, and it will be determined at that time whether further public engagement is warranted. Council is expected to conduct a final review of the draft legislation in November, and the bylaw should be in place by the start of next year.

The draft legislation can be viewed at www.clearview.ca/stra-bylaw- review.