Bylaw changes coming for Calgary short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo

The City of Calgary hopes changes to a bylaw governing short-term rental business licences will strike a balance between owners and community members.

On Tuesday, council approved amendments to the current bylaw. They will go into effect Jan. 1.

All current and prospective short-term rentals hosts are required to have a business licence to rent properties on platforms such as Airbnb or Vrbo.

The city said current owners can operate under the old licence until next year. 

"There were some complaints from the community about some nuisances in the short-term rentals," said Ulrik Seward, manager of business and building safety approval with the city.

"Not a significant amount of concerns, but enough that it was felt that the issue needed to be looked at." 

Condo board consent

Key changes to the business licence application include proof of the property owner's consent — in addition to proof of the condominium board's consent, if relevant — for a short-term rental to be offered to guests. 

A fire safety plan is also required, making it so short-term renters would need to have their property undergo a fire inspection and post a floor plan inside the building. 

"There haven't been any specific fire safety issues as yet," Seward said. "But it was identified that it would be worth strengthening some of the regulations around the fire safety aspect."

Proof of liability insurance coverage for the short-term rental and a review of the property for prior concerns are now also mandated for the licence application.

All of these are new requirements.

Airbnb supports bylaw

Nathan Rotman, Airbnb's policy lead in Canada, said the company supports the bylaw and that it looks forward to "working with the City of Calgary and our host community to implement the changes."

CBC News reached out to Vrbo, but did not hear back. 

The Beltline Neighbourhoods Association said residents in multi-family buildings have had issues with Airbnb-type short terms rentals and expressed concern over how they impact their quality of life.

The association said it welcomes the bylaw changes, saying they will "help improve the quality of life of Beltline's residents."

In the coming months, the city is also launching several awareness campaigns to provide information to guests and hosts of the enhanced licence approval.

There are more than 4,000 licensed short-term rental accommodations in Calgary currently and that number is projected to grow steadily.