By Ted Lawrence and John Chenier
This Airbnb was very clean, well decorated, and had a fully stocked kitchen with everything you need for a long or short stay. We stayed for a week and having on suite laundry was great. Very nice building. Would recommend a stay here to family and friends. (a comment posted on the Airbnb web site by a client who stayed in Lowertown)
Airbnb is to hotels and traditional bed and breakfasts as Uber is to taxi and limousine services — a disrupter. In major cities around the world, hotel associations have been pressuring their municipal governments to adopt bylaws forbidding short-term rentals à la Airbnb.
But it is not only hotels that have been affected. Airbnb rentals have also become an issue in condominium and apartment buildings, especially for those centrally located near popular tourist sites, such as Lowertown. A search for an Airbnb in downtown Ottawa offers plenty to choose from.
There are numerous instances in the city where units have been purchased or rented with the intention of using these as Airbnbrentals. Even if that wasn’t the original intent of the purchaser, the downturn in the market for condominiums in Ottawa has left owners with the choice of either selling at a loss or turning their units into revenue-generating properties while waiting for the resale market to improve.
As noted in the previous edition of the Echo, noise, property damage and diminished security caused by Airbnb renters has sparked a reaction from many condominium corporations, and recent court rulings have upheld their right to ban short-term and non-residential uses.
This led the Echo to ask “What is the state of affairs in Lowertown condos?” Condominiums in Lowertown come in a variety of shapes and sizes, everything from small ten-unit row houses to multi-unit 25-storey towers. The Echo asked three simple questions to a number of owners and board members of condominiums in Lowertown :
Are Airbnbs an issue in your building?
Are they permitted, yes or no?
Do you have a policy or are you being asked by owners or considering developing one?
Here is the reply from a board member of one condominium in Lowertown.
Our condo comprises 30 townhouses. Initially all but two were owner occupied. Over time units have sold; some have had frequent turn overs. With the rise of Airbnbs and other on-line rental portals the rise in “turn overs” is exponential. This increases the potential negative impact on resident neighbours and raises security concerns. At our condo, we experienced turn overs as frequently as several times a week. These “guests” have no long-term interest in the property or neighbours and have used the unit for rowdy late night parties or other activities necessitating calls to bylaw officers and police: a continuing nightmare for residents in adjacent homes.
Short-term rentals largely go unnoticed if the owner occupies the home and rents out a spare room. When an owner is on site there is control of his/her tenant thus minimizing adverse impacts to neighbours. However with frequent turn overs, with access by lockbox and no landlord on site, things can spiral out of control very quickly.
When this situation arose at our condo it took a concerted effort and considerable time to bring things back under control including:
- tracking rental activity by searching on-line rental portals
- repeated verbal and written requests to comply with condo rules
- notices to “guests” that their presence might be required in a court of law
- legal consultation resulting in a notice to desist
- threat of lien against the property
Ultimately our condo board modified its rules. It now stipulates that rental agreements shorter than 6 month are not permitted. Violation of the condo rules is an offence under Condominium Act of Ontario. Although these measures do not guarantee a trouble-free road ahead it does give a condo corporation legal recourse to problems arising from short-term rentals.
The replies from other condo buildings are as follows:
183 to 189 Cumberland Streets:
Nine units: Airbnbs are not an issue for us because we preemptively passed a bylaw a few years ago saying owners cannot rent their units for less than one year.
222 Bruyère:
Bylaws state that rental must be one year minimum to avoid Airbnb.
280 Cathcart Street (Cathcart Lane):
They still permit Airbnb rentals. There was one owner who leased out a unit on Airbnb for a few years but there were never any problems with her Airbnb tenants. The condominium did not have an Airbnb policy, per se.
180 York Street (East Market Phase I):
Airbnbs are an issue as they are not permitted in the Eastmarket Condominiums. The Eastmarket Condominiums have always had a rule/policy in place against short-term rentals (less than 6 months), but we recently clarified this rule even further because of Airbnb, including instituting fines for those that violate the rule.
310 Cathcart Street (Cathcart Mews):
We have had no reported problems v.a.v. [vis à vis] Airbnbs. They are not forbidden in the bylaws and so the answer must be “yes” they are allowed. The matter will be added to the agenda for the next AGM.
160 George Street (the St George):
Airbnb or similar short term rentals are not permitted.
Section 3.2(a) of the St George Condominium Declaration states: “Residential Units shall be occupied only for the purpose of a single family dwelling and for no other purpose”. The Board of Directors has adopted “RULES respecting USE and TENANCIES of RESIDENTIAL UNITS” to ensure all owners and residents understand and comply with this requirement, as follows:
Rooming, boarding or lodging arrangements are not permitted;
· No Bed & Breakfast, Airbnb or similar arrangements;
· Rental, tenancy, lease or sub-lease for less than 6 months is prohibited; and
· Owners are required to register any tenants occupying their unit to ensure the Corporation knows who is in the building and using the facilities.
124 Guigues Avenue:
Short term rentals, including Airbnb, are an issue for us. We are currently consulting owners about the way ahead.
From the above comments it is clear that enforcement of the rules against short-term rentals has been a problem at some condominiums. We would like to hear from condo dwellers on this issue or on any other matters that concern them. Direct your comments to info@lowertown-basseville.ca with subject: condo corner.