Kawartha Lakes is Seeking Public Input via a Survey Regarding Short Term Rentals in the Municipality
In an effort to minimize the negative impacts of Short Term Rentals on residents, and to support the positive economic impacts on residents and the municipality, Council asked staff to continue monitoring complaints during summer of 2022 and bring a report to Council by March 31, 2023.
Along with the complaints and feedback that the municipality continues to receive and track, Kawartha Lakes is seeking broader public input in the form of a survey.
“Short Term Rentals are a very popular type of accommodation that over the last few years, through various booking platforms, has become very accessible to tourism. They bring both positives and negatives to the communities where they are located. We want to hear from everyone who may have interest in this topic. Please be sure to voice your opinion on Short Term Rentals in Kawartha Lakes by completing the survey before it closes on February 15,” said Aaron Sloan, Manager of Municipal Law Enforcement and Licensing at the municipality.
Everyone is welcome to visit the Short Term Rentals Jump In project page to learn more about the project and to participate in the survey. Visit our Short Term Rentals page to learn more about Short Term Rentals in Kawartha Lakes.
The deadline to complete the Short Term Rental Survey is February 15, 2023. Once the survey has closed, the next step will be to host a Public Meeting to discuss the findings of the survey and to discuss the draft by-law. The Public Meeting will likely take place at the end of February. The municipality will share the exact date of the meeting once it is confirmed.
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Definition of Short Term Rental
A Short Term Rental (STR) is defined as a tenancy that is 30 days or less. This could include renting a private room in a home, an entire home, a seasonal property (cottage), temporary residence, lodging or occupancy byway of concession, lease, rental agreement of any other space for 30 days or less. Short Term Rentals do not include established zoning permitted accommodation types such as bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels, trailer parks or campgrounds.
A brief history of STRs in Kawartha Lakes
Our first STR survey was completed in 2018. Council adopted the first option of the Short Term Rentals Follow Up Report which was to continue to monitor STRs and implement several amendments to City by-laws to enable Municipal Law Enforcement to better respond and track issues arising at these properties. Also in 2018, Kawartha Lakes created a service fee targeted at the property owners of STRs for municipal staff response to nuisance complaints such as noise or parking. The fee was increased in 2022. Also in 2022, Council requested that further research be conducted with a focus on licensing STRs. Visit our Short Term Rentals page to learn more.
Next steps
Survey responses will be reviewed and combined with information gathered from complaint monitoring to create a draft regulatory by-law. A Public Meeting will be held at the end of February 2023. Comments from the Public Meeting, along with all other public input will be brought to Council in a report outlining options to regulate and license Short Term Rentals in Kawartha Lakes by March 31, 2023.
