If there’s been any doubt that vacation rentals are a passionate issue in Niagara-on-the-Lake, events in council erased doubts, especially as the freeze on new short-term rental licences is expected to expire in July.
Town council met late last month to discuss what to do next about short-term rental rules in the town. A bylaw was passed by town council in 2021, which defined the different kinds of short-term rental properties and gave the town greater power to regulate them.
Last December, council paused the issuance of any new licences for short-term rentals in town — this freeze will end when amendments to the existing bylaw are implemented. The town’s communications co-ordinator, Marah Minor, said those amendments are expected to come forward during council’s meeting on July 22.
During the May 27 council meeting, seven individuals came to give their opinions and tell their stories of the effects of short-term rentals on town. Short-term rental owners and members of the public have expressed a variety of opinions about the topic, ranging from a desire to freeze the number of new licences given out to opposing bans on cottage rentals and villas.
The biggest issue in this debate is whether the number of short-term rental properties, most often used by tourists, should go higher in number, stay the same or be banned entirely.
There are currently 231 short-term rental properties licensed to operate in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which are split into five categories.
Broadly speaking, cottage rentals and villas are detached houses in more rural residential areas in which the owners do not stay. Bed and breakfasts and country inns, which are also in more rural residential areas, are lived in by the owners.
Vacation apartments are not occupied by the owners but more often exist in urban areas.
The cottage rentals and villas have particularly been a source of controversy because of the potential for those staying in them to make a disturbance, given the owner’s absence.
Doug Johnson, who owned a bed and breakfast in NOTL for 19 years before selling it three years ago, believes they belong in separate categories from businesses like the one he used to own.
“Bed and breakfasts and country inns need to separate from other short-term rentals,” he said. “Bed and breakfast owners have to live in their place … If residents were bothering people, they were bothering me, too.”
Johnson also said that he does not like the municipal accommodation tax that the town currently places on short-term rental owners. The accommodation tax is a four per cent tax, which is applied to visitors who come to NOTL.
However, for people like Adam Walton, who is the part-owner of Newark House, a cottage rental, there are different considerations.
While he said he has been “very lucky” with noise issues at his own rental, he had sympathy for residents in neighbourhoods with Airbnb-listed properties who were putting up with noise. However, he also has concerns that the licensing laws may be too restrictive on his business.
“If I sell my property, does the buyer of the property get to keep my licence?” he said. “If they can’t, the ability to sell my property would be limited.”
Beyond the owners of short-term rental properties, reaction among people who live in NOTL has also been varied. Some people do not like the impact rentals have had on their neighbourhoods.
“As a resident, one does not like to see suitcases coming in every day and coming out,” said Raj Singh, a Niagara-on-the-Lake resident who came from Mississauga five years ago, in part to avoid that city’s increasing number of high-rise apartments. “In pure residential areas, they should not be increased.”
Margaret Hammerling, a long-time resident of NOTL, agrees.
“The house behind us has been a B&B for a long time,” she said. “Now it’s an Airbnb, and the grounds are neglected, and we notice a difference … Often we get families (as guests), which is fine. But when we get the bridal parties in, they’re noisy.”
But for other residents, they did not have a strong opinion, either because the issue didn’t affect them directly or they just had other concerns.
“I think everyone has a right to start their own small business,” said Keith Barry. “But where I live … (short-term rentals) doesn’t affect me at all.”
“I know nothing other than that I’ve met some people who’ve owned bed and breakfasts prior to the pandemic,” said Mitzy Dworak. “They’re very friendly.”
More of these stories will likely be heard when, as per the motion passed, the town meets people who have something to lose or gain, depending on what the town does on this issue. And, as staff develops bylaws that could end the moratorium.
