Airbnb says Toronto should regulate 'professional' renters

Airbnb Canada's public policy manager Alexandra Dagg told Metro Morning that she'd like to see the city of Toronto create regulations that target "professional" renters.

"If there are professional operators sharing multiple units on our platform that there should be regulations designed to deal with that," she said.  

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Dagg said that Airbnb is "engaged" with the city in discussing appropriate regulations for the home sharing platform.

The platform has been criticized for shrinking Toronto's long-term rental market as landlords put units on the site instead of renting them out on traditional leases.

Dagg countered that the vast majority of Toronto hosts operate on a small scale.

"Eighty per cent of our hosts are sharing their primary residence," said Dagg, adding that they typically rent their home only four or five nights a month.

"Our typical host is earning $4,500 on an annual basis."

Metro Morning11:42Air B-N-B and the city's rental housing market

For weeks, we've been hearing about the impact short-term rental websites, particularly Air B-N-B, are having on the city's rental housing market. Matt Galloway spoke with the public policy manager for Air B-N-B Canada.

Mayor John Tory commented in late September that the effect of home sharing platforms like Airbnb on Toronto's rental market is an issue that is being looked at closely by the city.

"We have a report coming this fall about the implications of the issue and what we might consider doing about it," he said.