Fees up for short-term rental housing operators as Charlottetown council passes licensing bylaw

A new bylaw setting licensing rules for short-term rentals in the city of Charlottetown is now official, and fees for people offering those kinds of accommodations on platforms like Airbnb have gone up.

On Tuesday night, city council voted 6-1 to increase application fees for STR operators to $175 from $50. Operators would have to pay the fee each year before they begin to rent their units out to visitors on accommodations platforms.

The city's STR licensing bylaw also passed first reading Tuesday after being on pause for more than a year, and second reading followed without incident on Thursday. The bylaw is scheduled to come into effect Nov. 1.

The regulations, which set things like inspection regimes and compliance requirements, were last put on hold in March over concerns there weren't enough measures to ensure renters' safety.

• Get the news you need without restrictions. Download our free CBC News App.

The bylaw has received some amendments, including requirements for properties to have smoke detectors. To show compliance, operators must provide things like proof of insurance and emergency exit plans for the unit.

A new bylaw enforcement officer — who would be enforcing rules on STR and other planning and heritage bylaws — can inspect properties after providing a minimum 24 hours' written notice and gaining the owner's consent. Inspections can be both complaint-driven and resulting from a random screening.

Fines can range from $200 to $10,000, with additional fines for each day the offence continues or after the city revokes the STR's licence.

Reapplications for revoked licences would be only considered within a year if there's new information or a change of circumstances.

Some councillors had said they were still concerned that the rules weren't enforceable because provincial legislation still needs to be updated.

"We don't have any teeth yet in our bylaw to give somebody a fine if they're not adhering to our bylaw," said Deputy Mayor Alanna Jankov on Tuesday.

"That being said, the short-term can go forward with the enforcement mechanism that ... exist in place right now, if council chooses to."

Changes to Prince Edward Island's Municipal Government Act would allow the new bylaw enforcement officer to issue tickets, the city said.

Province says no amendments needed

But in an email Friday, a spokesperson with the Department of Housing, Land and Communities told CBC News municipalities can issue tickets related to STRs, and that no amendments are required to the MGA to explicitly include short-term rentals.

The province said it spoke to the city before Thursday's special meeting of council.

Charlottetown chief administrative officer Eleanor Mohammed also said Tuesday the city's amendments to the zone and development bylaw are in full effect and enforceable.

The amendments set rules restricting STRs to rooms or suites within the owner's primary residence. In most circumstances, separate apartments can't be rented out — a measure the city included in an effort to push such units back into the long-term rental market, in the face of a severe lack of housing.

Just like waste or anything else, we have the ability to enforce.— Eleanor Mohammed, Charlottetown CAO

"Delaying this licensing piece doesn't stop the city from being able to enforce illegal short-term rentals," Mohammed said.

"The summary proceedings bylaw, the reason why we've been pursuing that is because we want to make enforcement easier by trying to ticket. But just like waste or anything else, we have the ability to enforce."

A City of Charlottetown spokesperson told CBC News the city can issue fines or injunctions to enforce the zoning and development bylaw.

Jankov said the bylaw officer will be hired soon. The application process closed Tuesday.

According to the city's website, 115 permits to offer tourist accommodations had been approved as of Oct. 6.