Administration; Affordable Housing Office; Economic Development and Culture; and Legal Services. This work centres around three areas:

• Research: Staff will conduct further research on the key issues identified in this report.

• Consultation: Staff will consult with the public and key stakeholders on the impacts of short-term rentals on residents and businesses in Toronto and potential approaches to short-term rentals.

• Options for potential regulation: Staff will examine potential options for regulating short—term rentals in Toronto. These options will be guided by the evidence gathered during research and consultation processes.

• The work will be done by staff and may involve working with external organizations or consultants. An interdivisional working group of staff from relevant divisions at the City will be developed to drive this work.

Balancing competing goals

These areas are outlined further below. Based on the issues identified above, a review of work being done in other cities, and taking into account the City of Toronto Strategic Actions, staff have developed the following goals that will need to be balanced when approaching the work outlined above: . Ensure safety for consumers and neighbours and promote quality of life in neighbourhoods.

• Prevent substantive decrease of availability and affordability of rental housing.

• Promote tourism by supporting innovation in the accommodations sector while ensuring tourist accommodation providers have equitable regulations and tax requirements.

• Allow residents to occasionally rent their own homes for short periods.

• Ensure the rules and regulations surrounding short-term rentals in Toronto are clear for residents, property owners and short—term rental platforms.

Research

Staff will undertake research in the following areas:

• Current state of the short-term rental market in Toronto: Staff will obtain and analyze data on short-term rentals listed on key online platforms. Staff will seek data on the nature of listings (one room rented or entire unit), the geography of listings (by property address or a more general location). price of listings per night, and operator details (number of listings per operator, frequency listing is rented). The data may be obtained from Airbnb or other organizations or may be purchased from a short-term rental compliance company.
• Housing availability and affordability in Toronto: Staff have begun exploring theAirbnb data, with a focus on how the program impacts the Toronto housing market. Further analyses will be conducted to look at how short-term rentals impact access to housing for vulnerable residents.
• Neighbourhood impacts: Staff will examine complaints related to short-term rentals received by City divisions and agencies and other key stakeholders, including short— term rental platforms. neighbourhood associations and condominium associations.

Developing an approach to regulating short-term rentals