Federal crackdown on illegal Airbnb listings urgently needed, say advocates

"It's been seven years since we started advocating for short-term rental rules to protect housing stock from conversion into ghost hotel fodder, but enforcement has always been a problem," says Thorben Wieditz, executive director of Fairbnb Canada Network. "Seeing our federal government follow in the footsteps of European countries like France and Netherlands to rein in Airbnb's ability to remove residential housing stock a welcome, necessary move in a deepening housing affordability crisis."

Actual home-sharing is not the issue in Canada and elsewhere. Federal measures continue to allow ordinary residents to rent their own homes while on vacation, but target dedicated commercial short-term rentals in areas where these have been outlawed. Removing illegal commercial short-term rentals will also help homeowners and long-term tenants who legally rent their own homes, or parts thereof, generate more additional revenue.

Platforms like Airbnb have removed tens of thousands of units from Canada's housing market. Even four years ago, a McGill University study estimated the total number of homes lost to commercial Airbnb's as 31,000. In the summer of 2023, the number of units lost in British Columbia alone was estimated to be 16,800. Nationwide, tens of thousands of homes that were planned, zoned, approved, and built as residential properties continue to be lost to illegal commercial short-term rental conversions.

"We welcome the federal government's initiative," says Adam Mongrain, director at Vivre En Ville. "The regulation of short-term rentals has become one valuable tool in addressing our housing crisis. The speed and scale with which units can be brought back through this multi-jurisdictional approach represent a real opportunity, and we look forward to seeing the results."