City council is concerned Airbnb operations could become defacto hotels.
Draft regulations for short-term rentals moved ahead Tuesday for a council vote next — with some caveats. Business operations under Airbnb allow residents to rent out several rooms, stirring questions over effects on tenancy, fairness for traditional B&B owners, and the difference between a capital-heavy business and a side income.
Both are considered short term rentals. That means temporary stays in private residences, according to the city's definition. However, B&B doesn't actually require operators to live in their rental spaces. Which could be a sticking point — Coun. Niels Konge said that may mean a backdoor to opening a hotel on the cheap.
Then tenancy issues crop up. Other municipalities like Vancouver have clamped down on short-term rentals, citing a tight market with little space. This leads to restricting short-term rentals to operators who live in the space.
That's to limit taking scant rental spaces off the market. However, there's little evidence saying that's an issue in Yellowknife, said Coun. Julian Morse
He also drew attention to the question of commercial tax rates applying to an Airbnb operator who may have multiple spaces rented out, at which point it may be a “conglomerate hotel.”
A different rate would be a good compromise because a renting room out of a residence wouldn't have large impact on the market, he said, “but when it's not your principal residence, you have a condo or something, that's something you really could rent out.”
Coun. Shauna Morgan reconsidered the role the city would be best suited to as it ushered in a new plan.
“What is the problem we're trying to solve here?” she asked, questioning how the city could determine whether it's a side income or not, and whether residents live in the space they're renting out. She said the proposed level of regulation was appropriate, considering the City's resources.
Nick Pearce / NNSL Photo
Speaking to councillors, Bryan Manson, a local landlord, said there may not be enough communication to owners whose tenants rent out their space. Similarly, condo boards may not have adequate say over short-term rentals in their buildings.
B&B owner Faith Embleton was concerned over fairness. When she applied for her licence in 1999, it was a rigmarole — it required a development permit, registration with the federal government, liability and proper house insurance, adequate parking, and a sprinkler system upon expansion.
“Apparently that's no longer required,” she said.
Embleton said other operators didn't necessarily meet these standards.
“I resent the fact that I've been paying my business license and getting it invoiced to me and everyone else has been doing nothing,” she said, adding that she disagreed with the joint short-term rental definition.
That mainly centred around the difference between running a business and supplementing an income, a point another presenter, Yanik D'Aigle, former federal election candidate and RBC Manager, echoed.
He also asked councillors to consider when Airbnb becomes a commercial venture, where operators run multiple rental space they actually don't live in.
On that, Konge found a particular issue: “If I own a house, and I live in a house, and I want to do short-term rental, I have to go and get a rental permit. But if I own a house, and I don't live in the house, and I want to short term rental it, I don't even need to get a development permit.”
Mayor Rebecca Alty suggested requiring a development permit regardless of where the operators live.
Councillors opted to send the plan forward from committee to next week's council meeting. Morse argued developing the hotel levy to promote Yellowknife tourism already has City staff occupied. “The sooner we get (the levy) in place, the better,” he said.
Fair treatment needed, says B&B owner
Nick Pearce/NNSL Photo
Jenny Qu, owner of Aurora Jenny's B&B, moved here four years ago. She was inspired to open her business after visiting Yellowknife and noticing all the rooms in town were packed. It was too busy.
Qu asked around: “can any place speak Chinese? No, no place can speak Chinese,” she said.
She saw a business opportunity catering to Chinese tourists, and encouraging them to stop by her B&B to view the Northern lights. She moved north, picked a house, a started her business. It was a good guess: “Many Chinese know my place, because if they're English is not good, ... they can connect,” she said.
Qu told Yellowknifer it would be fairer for all short-term rental operations to be treated the same. That extends to industry standards.
“If you want to run this short-term (rental) business, you have to follow some rules,” she said, adding this would foster fairer competition.
“We're a small town,” she said. “If something happened because a property's not (up to standards), and there's something like that, it's not good for Yellowknife in the tourism market.”
