Dear editor:

In principle, I am in favour of short-term rentals.

We ran one a year back. Done properly, they don’t offend a sense of community and they can actually help those budget-conscious families who want to visit our wonderful community. Done properly.

Nevertheless, the readers who supported and wrote last week’s Lake Report advertisement “short-term rentals are destroying communities” deserve an audience.

They do have legitimate complaints. Rentals should not trump the enjoyable lifestyle of Niagara-on-the-Lake residents. Ever.

I do presently have the unfortunate experience of being adjacent to the more ugly side of the industry.

This would be the short-term rentals that cater to large groups of people … and have a pool. The pool is the killer.

Those short-term rentals become short-term resorts cater to partiers and multiple families for reunions and celebrations — much the same way you would at Great Wolf Lodge … only a lot more cheaply.

We have one of these behind our backyard and this summer was one long outdoor party. We have been unable to enjoy our backyard patio and have been forced to leave our premises or hide inside.

This is not how I wanted to “enjoy” my retirement. This is just wrong.

And we have no real recourse. This short-term rental owner sits in Mississauga, collecting his money from the multiple NOTL rentals he owns while we, the actual neighbourhood residents, suffer.

Murray Weaver
Old Town