CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Opposition Greens have introduced a bill that could allow the provincial government to better track data from short-term rental operators on P.E.I.
A private member’s bill, introduced by Charlottetown-Belvedere MLA Hannah Bell, would require operators of short-term rentals to, upon request, provide the province with their contact information, the number of nights the establishment is rented and the price charged for the rental.
The bill introduces short-term rental-specific amendments to the province’s Tourism Industry Act.
"One of the biggest challenges we have right now is nobody can even articulate what we're talking about. We don't have any data," Bell said.
The Department of Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture has said information on short-term rental operators is gathered by staff who pore through listings on sites like Airbnb and VRBO.
"Paying people to sit and kind of troll through listings online is not the most efficient way," Bell said.
In September, Chris Jones, director of strategic initiatives for the department of Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture, told a standing committee that the number of overnight tourism accommodation establishments on the Island has grown by between 595 and 695 since 2016.
Jones said this growth was largely due to the growing popularity of short-term rental sites, which allow owners of private homes to rent out their property to tourists.
But when asked to provide specific data on how many of the units listed on Airbnb or VRBO would be considered owner-operated, Jones said he did not know.
“I’m not so sure that would be our mandate,” Jones told the committee.
Short-term rentals have been a controversial topic for over a year due to the low rental vacancy rate throughout P.E.I. Due to a growing population and a comparatively slow rate of construction of rental properties, the vacancy rate across P.E.I. has dropped to 0.3 per cent. Shortages for two- and three-bedroom apartments are particularly acute.
Housing activists have long argued that short-term rental platforms have allowed landlords to convert rental properties away from long-term tenancy. The City of Charlottetown has been in the midst of consultation around regulation of short-term rentals but recently announced it would delay introducing a bylaw to March of 2020. Councillors have said more time is needed for industry research, data analysis and consultation.
The provincial government does not have a legislated definition of a short-term rental operator. Jones told The Guardian in September that this was difficult to define, as some traditional hotels also advertise rooms on short-term rental sites like Airbnb.
Bell’s bill defines a "platform operator" as a person who provides a reservation of a tourism establishment through the internet.
The bill would explicitly require individuals who advertise on short-term rental websites like Airbnb to register with the province. The Department of Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture already requires short-term rental operators to obtain a tourism licence with the province.
But Bell says she has heard that many operators on short-term rental sites have not done this.
"Anecdotally, we're hearing that's not the case," Bell said.
"How do you know they are? Because you don't know what the listings are. You don't actually have that accurate listing of data."
