Short Term Rentals

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Short-Term Rental Accommodation Study

The County of Haliburton is reviewing short-term rental accommodations within the County. According to the Province of Ontario, home sharing (or short-term rentals) is one of the fastest growing sectors in the sharing economy. This growth is driven by consumers seeking better accommodation choices and property owners/hosts seeking opportunities to earn extra income. There are many perspectives on home sharing. Some individuals are in favour, while others are not.

Given its strategic location in the Province of Ontario and reputation as a high-quality community and destination, Haliburton County has an active home sharing industry. While the size of the home sharing industry within the County is not yet known, anecdotal evidence suggests that home sharing opportunities are substantial. A search of a popular home sharing provider undertaken for the writing of this report indicates that there are at least 300 home sharing opportunities within the County available for 4 persons seeking to share a home for the 2022 May long weekend, the traditional start of summer in Ontario and much of Canada.

How You Can Get Involved!

J.L. Richards & Associates Ltd. Will review the literature related to short-term rentals, conduct an environmental scan of other successful municipal practices, and consult with residents and stakeholder to understand their perspectives on the issues related to short-term rental accommodations and proposed solutions.

This work will be undertaken in two phases.

Phase 1

The first phase will focus on understanding the issue, the literature review, municipal best practices and preliminary directions for improvement. As part of this phase, residents and stakeholders will be informed, involved, collaborated, and engaged through stakeholder interviews and an online survey. Residents and stakeholders may also contact the consultants using the information provided below. The feedback from this first round of consultation will be presented to County Council together with the consultant’s preliminary findings and directions.

Phase 2

Based on feedback received from County Council, it is anticipated that the second phase will focus on solutions to address the community’s concerns with short-term rental accommodations in the County. Residents and stakeholder will be informed, involved, collaborated with, and engaged in this second phase, again through stakeholder interviews and an online survey. The feedback generated through this process will be reported to County Council as they consider any proposed regulatory improvements.

We want to hear from you!

J.L. Richards & Associates have developed a survey which is being made available to owners, renters, and neighbours of short-term rental accommodations in the County. The survey will be available from Monday April 4th, 2022 to Monday April 25th, 2022. The survey is intended to get perspectives on short-term rental units and the impacts they have on communities. The information collected through this survey will be used to further JLR’s understanding of the issues and concerns associated with short-term rentals and inform their advice to County Council. As the next phase of the process, a second survey will be made available to gauge perspectives on how to address issues and the community’s concerns with short-term rentals in the County.

The survey can be accessed here: https://airtable.com/shrav04ZPZgsPhivW


Short-Term Rental Review Update
On October 26th, 2022, Haliburton County Council directed staff to incorporate the recommendations of its consultant JL Richards and the amendments provided by County Council as they pertain to the regulation and licensing of Short-Term Rentals (STRs); and to bring revised by-laws to a meeting of Council prior to the end of 2022.

Short-Term Rental Accommodation Study

The County of Haliburton is reviewing short-term rental accommodations within the County. According to the Province of Ontario, home sharing (or short-term rentals) is one of the fastest growing sectors in the sharing economy. This growth is driven by consumers seeking better accommodation choices and property owners/hosts seeking opportunities to earn extra income. There are many perspectives on home sharing. Some individuals are in favour, while others are not.

Given its strategic location in the Province of Ontario and reputation as a high-quality community and destination, Haliburton County has an active home sharing industry. While the size of the home sharing industry within the County is not yet known, anecdotal evidence suggests that home sharing opportunities are substantial. A search of a popular home sharing provider undertaken for the writing of this report indicates that there are at least 300 home sharing opportunities within the County available for 4 persons seeking to share a home for the 2022 May long weekend, the traditional start of summer in Ontario and much of Canada.

How You Can Get Involved!

J.L. Richards & Associates Ltd. Will review the literature related to short-term rentals, conduct an environmental scan of other successful municipal practices, and consult with residents and stakeholder to understand their perspectives on the issues related to short-term rental accommodations and proposed solutions.

This work will be undertaken in two phases.

Phase 1

The first phase will focus on understanding the issue, the literature review, municipal best practices and preliminary directions for improvement. As part of this phase, residents and stakeholders will be informed, involved, collaborated, and engaged through stakeholder interviews and an online survey. Residents and stakeholders may also contact the consultants using the information provided below. The feedback from this first round of consultation will be presented to County Council together with the consultant’s preliminary findings and directions.

Phase 2

Based on feedback received from County Council, it is anticipated that the second phase will focus on solutions to address the community’s concerns with short-term rental accommodations in the County. Residents and stakeholder will be informed, involved, collaborated with, and engaged in this second phase, again through stakeholder interviews and an online survey. The feedback generated through this process will be reported to County Council as they consider any proposed regulatory improvements.

We want to hear from you!

J.L. Richards & Associates have developed a survey which is being made available to owners, renters, and neighbours of short-term rental accommodations in the County. The survey will be available from Monday April 4th, 2022 to Monday April 25th, 2022. The survey is intended to get perspectives on short-term rental units and the impacts they have on communities. The information collected through this survey will be used to further JLR’s understanding of the issues and concerns associated with short-term rentals and inform their advice to County Council. As the next phase of the process, a second survey will be made available to gauge perspectives on how to address issues and the community’s concerns with short-term rentals in the County.

The survey can be accessed here: https://airtable.com/shrav04ZPZgsPhivW


Short-Term Rental Review Update
On October 26th, 2022, Haliburton County Council directed staff to incorporate the recommendations of its consultant JL Richards and the amendments provided by County Council as they pertain to the regulation and licensing of Short-Term Rentals (STRs); and to bring revised by-laws to a meeting of Council prior to the end of 2022.

Page last updated: 10 Nov 2022, 01:32 PM