How Kitchener and Waterloo are dealing with the Airbnb market

City officials of Kitchener and Waterloo say they haven't found the need to regulate short-term rentals like units listed on Airbnb, unlike Toronto's city council, which has recently approved new rules for Airbnbhosts.

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In Kitchener and Waterloo, there are about 300 listings that exist from a search on theAirbnbwebsite. But so far,neither city hasregulationsspecifically for governing short-term rentals.

Only last month did Toronto's city council approve new short-term rental rules,statingpeople can only rent out their primary residences for 28 days or less. The regulations were put in place with increasing concerns about rental availability and the explosive Airbnbmarket.

Rental licensing in Waterloo

The City of Waterloo doesn't regulate short-term rentals.

Shamir Mehta,the manager of housing licensing and standards at the City of Waterloo, told CBC Newsthat a majority of theAirbnbunits listed in the city belong to what he calls "low-rise operations" in detached homes. Alllandlords who rent out their low-rise operations must have a city license to do.

Once a person has a rental license, '"they can operate it as they see fit," Mehta said.

Depending on whether the landlordlives in the property, those who want a rental license have to pay anywhere from $500 to $1,200. Applicants must also show they have insurance coverage, a building permitand that their property complies with the city's electrical, fireand zoning codes.

"All those things are identified to the application process," he said.

Currently, Waterloo has 3,700 low-rise operations that are licensed for rental. According to Mehta, "there's a potential for any one of those to become anAirbnb-type business operation."

In Waterloo,there arecurrently no city bylaws that outlines the rental licensing for high-rise operations.

"Statistically we don't have the numbers that show that a bylaw would be required," he said.

What this lack of regulation means is Airbnbunits in those types of residential unitsare unregulated.

"There's been no direction to staff from council to visit the need to capture high-riseAirbnbtypes or operations," he said. "There's usually security or property management that they have on site, which deters that type of business activity."

Mehta added that the city is currently monitoring the need to regulate rental licensing for high-rise buildings through "call volumes" the number of complaints they get.But so far, they haven't seen a need.

No regulations in Kitchener

As for the Airbnbunits in Kitchener, CBC News made numerous attempts to speak to an official at the City of Kitchener aboutregulationsbut was not able to get an interview.

"We don't really have anyone for you to interview on this subject as the city doesn't license these types of rentals," said a spokesperson in an email response.

Currently, all units listed for rent in the city are unregulated because the City of Kitchener has no rental licensing bylaws.

"The only bylaws that would apply would be property standards, lot maintenance etc.- but these bylaws apply to all properties, they are not unique to Airbnbs," the email read.

The City has not received complaints about Airbnbsin Kitchener with regards to licensing or property standards, according to the spokesperson.