A call for the city to close some loopholes and put in place tighter restrictions around short-term rentals in Windsor. Council has voted to have administration report back on the current by-law around short-term rentals, measures to verify principal residence status, enforcement numbers, and penalties issued by the city along with the number of complaints the city has received. Ward 4 Coun. Mark McKenzie claims the current system has gaps around the rule that it be the operator’s principal residence, the home the owner actually lives in. “They’re changing their license to say that’s the principal residence when it’s actually not. They’re putting some of these properties in their kids’ names, their spouses’ names, or their cousins’ names; I think there are a lot of gaps here. I’ve asked staff to go back and look at this framework and policy and make any changes that we need to make,” he says. In February 2022, council approved a new by-law aimed at regulating short-term rental properties in Windsor, including Airbnbs. It requires applicants to prove the dwelling unit is their primary residence. The goal of the original by-law was to regulate and improve standards and safety but also potentially increase available housing by requiring proof that any short-term rental property is not just an investment property. McKenzie says he’s getting lots of complaints from people in his ward, especially in the Walkerville area. “I’m getting calls from residents all the time saying, ‘Look, nobody lives in this house, and it’s not the principal residence.’ Then people are renting them on weekends, throwing parties, and fighting. Recently, we had a movie shoot at an Airbnb in Walkerville, and that lasted for two days,” he says. McKenzie says it’s a shame that some of the “bad actors” ruin it for everybody. “I’m not saying that every single short-term rental owner is not following the rules. There definitely is a large number that aren’t following the rules. I want to see what we can do to enforce these rules better,” he says. McKenzie also asked that the report explore additional restrictions or an interim control bylaw in certain areas of the city, such as the Walkerville Heritage District. A report will come back to a future meeting of city council.
