Hamilton councilors have given the green light for city staff to go ahead with a plan to tighten rules on so-called “party houses” in city limits.
On Tuesday, the city’s municipal law enforcement executive offered planning committee members a proposed system that limits property owners from renting primary residences in an effort to stem complaints from neighbors.
“If they live somewhere else and they own this property, then they couldn’t STR (short-term rental) at that location,” suggested Robert Ustrzycki.
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The plan stems from the recommendations of a staff report produced through public consultations including an online survey suggesting the adoption of a regulatory scheme similar to the one in place in Toronto.
That statute went into effect in January 2021 and requires a property owner who intends to rent a space for less than 28 days to obtain a license from the city.
“This limits operators to a single STR within your primary residence or dwelling unit and does not allow commercial or multiple listing operators,” Ustrzycki said.
“The goal of this requirement is to improve neighborhood fit by ensuring personal responsibility for the dwelling unit that is used.”
An estimated 900 STR units are operating in the city with the highest concentration in downtown Hamilton based on information collected prior to COVID-19, according to Ustrzycki.
He says that about 60 percent or 600 of those units are vacant and see all the housing rented out for use on platforms like Airbnb.
The executive went on to say that the reduction of the STR and the mitigation of the ‘party house’ problem will have a positive residual effect of protecting the real estate market against the purchase of investment properties.
Central County (Ward 2) Jason Farr told councilmembers such STR properties are a “double-edged sword” as they support tourism by offering more accommodations during major events, but admits “some hot spots” have drawn complaints of the neighbors.
If approved, the plan would limit STRs to housing occupied by an owner or long-term renter. Short-term rental of basements would require the occupant of the home to apply for a license with the permission of the owner.
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City staff is projecting implementation of the licensing program in the first quarter of 2023 at a cost of about $214,000 annually, consisting of two full-time and one part-time employee to issue licenses.
It would also require a one-time vehicle purchase for an additional $36,000.
“Getting 900 applications, processing them, hiring the right staff, creating the portals, all the back-end work, the forms, the guidelines, that would take about three to four months,” Ustrzycki said.
Law enforcement executives are expected to return to councilors with the final outline for committee approval in August after posting a public notice.
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