Cottage communities tackling short-term rentals

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This article was published 14/08/2023 (783 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The debate over short-term rentals in Manitoba cottage country is heating up, as rural communities explore how to regulate the growing industry.

Communities including the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, Pinawa, Gimli and Victoria Beach have been facing increased noise, traffic, parking problems and taxation issues as short-term rentals rise in popularity.

Kam Blight, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, said the organization’s 137 members will vote on a resolution at its annual conference in November to lobby the province to pass legislation regulating short-term rentals.

But communities are already tackling the issue on their own.

Last May, the RM of Lac du Bonnet sent out a detailed survey to its residents on the matter after a deluge of properties were bought up by absentee landlords for short-term rentals, said Reeve Loren Schinkel.

The survey revealed residents were split on regulating them, so the municipality has adopted a wait-and-see approach while it consults with other Manitoba communities.

“We get a lot of complaints and have been monitoring this for the past couple of years,” Schinkel said. “We just want to get it right.”

Schinkel said one of the biggest issues with short-term rentals is noise complaints, adding they rarely have restrictions on visitors, leading to raucous, late-night parties. They also create a shortage of accessible parking for residents, he added.

“I think there’s a balance that needs to be achieved with this,” he said. “We don’t have any hotels in our community here, so the (short-term rentals) fill a void for us.”

In the Municipality of Harrison Park, located near Riding Mountain National Park, swift action was taken in June 2022, when a bylaw was enacted requiring rental operators to apply for a licence and pay a $200 fee.

Licensing helps the municipality “get a handle on how many there is and where they are,” Reeve Ian Drul wrote in an email to the Free Press.

Harrison Park’s bylaw specifies:

• The applicant must disclose the use of the property as a short-term rental to their home insurance provider;

• The number of overnight guests is limited to two per bedroom;

• The property must have one parking space per bedroom;

• Records of the names, telephone numbers and licence plates of guests must be kept by the operator;

• Short-term rentals must be kept in a sanitary condition.

The bylaw was passed after consultations with community members, including a survey, Drul said.

In Pinawa, short-term rentals are banned under the community’s zoning bylaws.

Mayor Blair Skinner said bylaw officers had to contact individual operators when short-term rentals started popping up in the community.

“Our staff contacted the owners in writing and instructed the short-term rental businesses to cease operations, as it is not allowed as per our zoning bylaw,” Skinner explained in an email.

A spokesperson for Municipal Relations Minister Andrew Smith said the province recognizes that short-term rentals are both an issue for rural communities and a boon to Manitoba’s tourism industry.

“With that in mind, we will continue to review recent legislative and regulatory developments in other jurisdictions while consulting with all relevant stakeholders to determine the best path forward,” the spokesperson said.

New Democrat MLA Lisa Naylor said the party has not decided if it would pass legislation to regulate the industry.

“I’ve been listening and talking to folks…” Naylor said. “At this point my role is to… keep listening at meetings and take the opportunities to talk to reeves and mayors and councillors. That will inform any future policy that we come up with.”

graham.mcdonald@freepress.mb.ca