Calgary council approves new short-term rental regulations

Calgary city council has approved some new rules regulating short-term rentals (STRs) in the city.

The changes, expected to take effect next spring, include higher licensing fees, restrictions related to affordable housing and a potential moratorium depending on the vacancy rate.

Licencing fees for STRs would be $172 for a primary residence and $510 for a non-primary residence. Renewing the latter would cost $260.

Another change would see the city putting a freeze on approving licenses if the long-term rental vacancy is less than 2.5 per cent.

New regulations would also restrict STRs in homes considered affordable housing and charge Airbnb and VRBO a fee to operate in Calgary.

Coun. Jasmine Mian says the new regulations are mainly designed to limit those who own multiple properties from listing their homes if the vacancy rate is too low.

“The point that we are trying to get to is the right balance for our community,” says Coun. Jasmine Mian. “We recognize the value and utility of short-term rentals, we want them to continue and we want people to be able to use their primary residence with reckless abandon to do what they wish.”

“There’s a wide spectrum of opinion on short-term rentals and there’s quite a number of people that think the fees should be higher and restrictions should be more.”

Alex Howell is the Airbnb policy lead for Canada and calls council’s decision a big mistake.

“These new rules would impact the city’s economy without giving the intended benefits to solve the housing crisis,” she says. “That’s a fact the city’s own report confirmed.”

The referenced report notes that hosts who have more than one listing operate a “disproportionally large percentage of listings,” with 11 per cent of all hosts operating nearly 41 per cent of all listings. It also noted that 80 per cent of those multi-listing hosts are individuals, while 16 per cent are property managers.

The report notes revenue went from $1 million in January 2017, to $22 million in July 2023 and $11 million in September that same year.

Howell says having enough hotels and short-term rentals are key to attracting big events to a city. She claims Airbnb drives hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact for Calgary and more than 10,000 jobs across the province.

“People spending money restaurants, retail and other tourism related industries,” she says.

The new rules would come into effect in April 2025.