Transcript
The City of Saskatoon recently approved new regulations for the operation of short term rental properties in the city of Saskatoon. Prior to these changes, it was pretty much a free for all. If you had a property that you wanted to rent, you could put it up on Airbnb or some other vacation rental service and you could rent it out however you wanted.
The new regulations bring several requirements upon owners of these properties. And first of all, let's talk about short term rentals and what they are. According to the city's definition, it's any property that you might rent out for a period of 30 days or less and rent in its entirety. So this doesn't apply to "homestays" where you rent out a bedroom or two, but specifically the properties that you're renting out in their entirety for that period of time.
The new regulations require that you make a host declaration to the City of Saskatoon. So it's a prepared form that you're gonna answer some questions about the property itself and what your intentions are.
The owner must declare their agreement to have the property rented out on a short term basis. So this might eliminate those people who were grabbing up properties on a lease, and then renting them back to the market via Airbnb. Now you need the owner's permission to operate that type of rental.
Thirdly, you need a commercial business license. So like any other business, hotel, bed and breakfast, you're gonna need that license. The most onerous part of the new regulations is the necessity for a discretionary use application.
If you are operating a short term rental in a low or medium density area, like an R1 or an R2, you're gonna have to make a discretionary use application in the City of Saskatoon, to get their approval to operate there. That is a bigger hoop to jump through. It's a $2,500 charge to make a discretionary use application, whether you're successful or not. As part of that process, the city will send a notice out to neighbours that are within 75 meters of the property and invite them to register their objection against the operation of such a business in their area, if in fact, they have that type of objection.
From there it goes to the city council for their final approval. And once it's approved you're able to operate that short term rental on an annual basis, just renewing your commercial business license.
So that's basically what's involved in a short term rental these days. If you're considering such a thing, make sure that you consult with the City of Saskatoon, that you're absolutely certain of all the new regulations and how they might apply, to the particular property that you own, in the location that you own it.
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Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra
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