Short-term rental rules coming into effect in Charlottetown soon; enforcement still unclear

In less than two weeks, Charlottetown will become the first city in the Maritimes to implement short-term rental licencing, but questions are still lingering, especially where enforcement is concerned.

Charlottetown City Council approved the first reading of its new short-term rental rules Monday evening, which are expected to come into effect March 28.

The city has been working on a policy around short-term rentals (STRs), since 2019.

Officials announced a year ago, the rules would go ahead, but the updated details of the policy have now been released.

The regulations are designed to limit multi-unit and single homes used specifically for STRs, while still allowing people to rent their personal residence.

"There will be some growing pains with this STR bylaw,” said Philip Brown, mayor of Charlottetown. “And there will be some trial and error."

The Tourism Association of PEI (TIAPEI) has some concerns about the licencing. They said some visitors are looking for that kind of accommodation and there is already inspection and licensing through Tourism PEI.

“Short-term rentals certainly wouldn’t be going into an affordable housing option, so it’s not necessarily a fit for that,” said Corryn Clemence, TIAPEI CEO.

“We recognise that that’s really important and it needs to be addressed. I don’t believe this will be the solution for that.”

Clemence says her group is also concerned about enforcement. There isn’t yet a policy to determine any kind of penalty or fine for breaking the rules, which now means the city must take operators to court if they disobey regulations.

“There has to be enforcement, so we have to deal with the summary offense bylaw, enhancing that, so we can issue tickets, or issue penalties,” said Brown. “That requires working with our provincial counterparts."

Brown said he doesn't know when intervention from the province might come.

As the largest municipality on the island, others are looking at what the city is doing with its short-term rental policy, in order to inform their own considerations going forward.