Too Much for the Neighbours

Usually, if a business wants to open right next to your home, you can expect to be informed and consulted. The City of Edmonton and Calgary’s rezoning process is designed to consider the impact a new business will have on existing residents. But if your neighbour turns their property into a commercial short-term rental, they don’t have to apply for rezoning or consult with you at all. In fact, it takes less paperwork to open a commercial short-term rental in Edmonton/Calgary than it does to build a shed in your own backyard .

 Suddenly, instead of living next to the neighbour you know, your “neighbour” becomes whoever rents that home for the day. Each temporary “neighbour” might be reasonable and respectful, or they might not. Impacts like increased noise and increased traffic are common when homes become short-term rentals, and these effects can impact neighbours’ quality of life in their own homes. When people are paying to stay for a few days in a home that isn’t their own, they aren’t personally invested in that home, its contents or consideration for the neighbours, which can embolden people to do things they would never do in their own community.

In some cases, the impacts go far beyond nuisances like noise or traffic difficulties. When hosts use tools like realtor lock boxes to avoid meeting their guests for check-in, it’s difficult to know who is staying in these homes or what they’re doing during their stay. This lack of accountability can be – and has been – exploited to facilitate criminal activity, from theft and vandalism to violence, sexual exploitation and human trafficking. When your “neighbour” is a series of short-term rental guests, you never know what’s happening just outside your front door, and it’s hard to track down problem guests who don’t want to be found.

 

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