Oro-Medonte is taking the fight against short-term rental accommodations to the next level.
Using every legal tool available to them, the township has given notice to illegal operators that there is zero tolerance in Oro-Medonte for short-term accommodations, also called short-term rentals or STRs, and the municipality will take action immediately.
“We are out conducting inspections on properties and currently we have 28 properties that are under investigation for non-permitted use,” Curtis Shelswell, the township's manager of municipal law services, told council Wednesday morning.
“We are actively out and municipal law has arranged their schedules so that from here on out, on weekends, full-time staff will move to Saturday to do inspections because we found rentals revolve around the weekends," he added.
In addition to stepping up weekend inspections, municipal law enforcement officers will leverage two other township divisions — building and fire services — to play a role in investigations.
Municipal law will investigate non-permitted uses related to the township’s zoning bylaw; buildings not meeting setbacks and/or exceeded lot coverage and all violations related to the township’s regulatory bylaws governing noise, open-air burning, fireworks without a permit, and parking violations.
Building staff will investigate for the following and check them against township records: construction and/or alterations that would require a building permit; the number of bedrooms related to the approved sewage system; and any signs of failure of the sewage system.
Fire services will be ensuring that all occupants are protected with the proper placement of carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and they are in proper working condition.
“Municipal law has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bylaw infractions at these residences, so for disruptions, noise bylaws we will lay charges on the spot to the occupants and we will follow up with the owners who permitted such disruptions,” Shelswell said.
In addition to fines, Oro-Medonte could seek an injunction against the owner, which could result in more fines to the owner (or director or officer of a corporation) of up to $25,000 for a first conviction.
The Good Neighbours Alliance of Oro-Medonte welcomed the news of the township’s efforts.
“This is excellent and something we’ve been asking for for a long time,” said David Johnston, a Good Neighbours Alliance director. “For the people living in these neighbourhoods, this is a 24/7 problem. Most of the issues are on the weekends, so it’s great to see inspections happening when the problems happen.”
According to Johnston, STRs are disruptive. Homeowners are exposed to the bad behaviour of short-term renters, including excessive noise at all hours of the day, unsafe partying, intimidation, illegal parking, environmental issues such as overloaded septic systems, and illegal fires.
“The township has been slow over the past five years to take action on enforcing its bylaws and closing down STRs,” he said. “The new township council is much clearer in communicating that STRs in residential neighbourhoods are illegal and should cease operation immediately.
"We continue to recommend aggressive enforcement leading to fines and prosecution as needed," Johnston added.
