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airbnb.com vs. condo rules
- Thread starter WeirdFishes
- Start date
tripwire
Active Member
That's pretty frightening - I know some owners of my building dislike renters across the board, but I don't have problems with the long term ones. But I can see a problem with short term ones treating it like a hotel of some sort. The fact that a non-owner can be part of the board was a concern for us recently as we had an outsider try to get himself elected.
Yup, the Condo Act allows for pretty much anyone over 18 who is mentally competent to be on any board. Individual condos should pass by-laws requiring that board members be owners and/or residents. We had a long-term tenant on our board for a while who did an awesome job.
Davidackerman
Active Member
condo over Airbnb Deal
Historic Airbnb-condo deal a win-win: Lash
By Mia Clarke, Associate Editor
A historic partnership between Airbnb and Neptune condominiums is a win-win, says Toronto condominium lawyer Denise Lash, who helped ink the deal.
“Prior to the agreement, unit owners were already renting out their condos on a short-term basis and getting the revenue, while the condominium corporation was left with extra cleaning bills and even damage, in some cases,” says Lash, principal of Lash Condo Law.
“So now we have an agreement that gives the corporation some additional protection and revenue, and rules that establish procedures that owners must follow if they use their unit for short-term rentals,” she tells AdvocateDaily.com.
Like some other condominiums in downtown Toronto, Neptune’s declaration allowed owners to rent out their units for short-term stays, explains Lash.
“And, like many other buildings, they had some challenges,” says Lash. “As a result of increased activity, there were more incidents of damage to common areas, more noise complaints and increased cleaning costs.”
The condo board wanted to prevent short-term rentals and attempted to amend the declaration, but that requires the consent of 80 per cent of all 871 unit owners.
They were unsuccessful, says Lash.
While the condo board continued to grapple with the issue, Lash spoke at a seminar on short-term tenancies. Speaking at the same event were representatives from Airbnb and that’s when Lash learned about the company’s Friendly Building Program.
“It’s a way of working together collaboratively to benefit all parties. Particularly in condo corporations whose declarations permit short-term rentals, hotelling is here to stay,” she says.
“Where the declaration permits it, there is no ability to prevent short-term rentals. It's important to focus on the issues and figure out a way to deal with the specific problems or concerns.”
Eventually, Neptune, which is located near the city’s waterfront, signed the first such deal in Canada with the international short-term rental giant, according to a CBC report.
Lash says the agreement helps put rules and conditions on something that is inevitably going to continue.
“This agreement benefits all owners in the corporation because it uncovers the veil which had previously permitted unit owners and residents who were using the service, to fly under the radar,” she says.
Lash says the agreement also provides a number of benefits and protections to the corporation. According to the CBC, those measures include:
"In the interim, those non-compliant owners or residents would simply continue to list their unit — frequently at nightly rates high enough to offset the pressure of legal demands from the corporation. Now, Airbnb can step in and prevent those owners from listing their units or getting any revenue."
She also says the insurance coverage is a huge bonus for the condo.
“It requires that any incident that affects common elements — or sometimes the unit itself — goes through Airbnb’s insurance first,” Lash says.
“Without this agreement, if there’s any damage to the common elements, the condominium corporation would likely have to put it through its own insurance.”
The bottom line is that short-term rentals “were legitimately occurring at Neptune in compliance with the declaration," says Lash.
“This agreement helps manage the use of short-term rentals and provides the corporation with some revenue at the same time.”
Historic Airbnb-condo deal a win-win: Lash
By Mia Clarke, Associate Editor
A historic partnership between Airbnb and Neptune condominiums is a win-win, says Toronto condominium lawyer Denise Lash, who helped ink the deal.
“Prior to the agreement, unit owners were already renting out their condos on a short-term basis and getting the revenue, while the condominium corporation was left with extra cleaning bills and even damage, in some cases,” says Lash, principal of Lash Condo Law.
“So now we have an agreement that gives the corporation some additional protection and revenue, and rules that establish procedures that owners must follow if they use their unit for short-term rentals,” she tells AdvocateDaily.com.
Like some other condominiums in downtown Toronto, Neptune’s declaration allowed owners to rent out their units for short-term stays, explains Lash.
“And, like many other buildings, they had some challenges,” says Lash. “As a result of increased activity, there were more incidents of damage to common areas, more noise complaints and increased cleaning costs.”
The condo board wanted to prevent short-term rentals and attempted to amend the declaration, but that requires the consent of 80 per cent of all 871 unit owners.
They were unsuccessful, says Lash.
While the condo board continued to grapple with the issue, Lash spoke at a seminar on short-term tenancies. Speaking at the same event were representatives from Airbnb and that’s when Lash learned about the company’s Friendly Building Program.
“It’s a way of working together collaboratively to benefit all parties. Particularly in condo corporations whose declarations permit short-term rentals, hotelling is here to stay,” she says.
“Where the declaration permits it, there is no ability to prevent short-term rentals. It's important to focus on the issues and figure out a way to deal with the specific problems or concerns.”
Eventually, Neptune, which is located near the city’s waterfront, signed the first such deal in Canada with the international short-term rental giant, according to a CBC report.
Lash says the agreement helps put rules and conditions on something that is inevitably going to continue.
“This agreement benefits all owners in the corporation because it uncovers the veil which had previously permitted unit owners and residents who were using the service, to fly under the radar,” she says.
Lash says the agreement also provides a number of benefits and protections to the corporation. According to the CBC, those measures include:
- Security will have access to a website which shows who is hosting and who their guests are at any given time.
- Guests must have government-issued ID on file with Airbnb.
- The condo corporation can request Airbnb to kick someone off the platform if too many complaints are incurred, on a case-by-case basis.
- Airbnb shares five per cent of revenue from rentals with the condo board.
- Property insurance up to $1 million will be provided by Airbnb for units and common areas.
- Hosts pay $50/month for building upkeep.
"In the interim, those non-compliant owners or residents would simply continue to list their unit — frequently at nightly rates high enough to offset the pressure of legal demands from the corporation. Now, Airbnb can step in and prevent those owners from listing their units or getting any revenue."
She also says the insurance coverage is a huge bonus for the condo.
“It requires that any incident that affects common elements — or sometimes the unit itself — goes through Airbnb’s insurance first,” Lash says.
“Without this agreement, if there’s any damage to the common elements, the condominium corporation would likely have to put it through its own insurance.”
The bottom line is that short-term rentals “were legitimately occurring at Neptune in compliance with the declaration," says Lash.
“This agreement helps manage the use of short-term rentals and provides the corporation with some revenue at the same time.”
The major factor here is that their declaration allowed for STRs.
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And THAT is what counts. If a CondoCorp prohibits short term rentals the deal has no purpose at that condo.
Last edited:
goleafsgo_chris
New Member
This makes a HUGE difference. The building I bought in bans short term rentals. It makes an incredible difference. Sure, some people get through the cracks, but they make a concerted effort to not allow airbnb. There are signs up, they check the website, and the concierge monitors for it and wont hand off keys. Some of my friends buildings are like a hotel, theres always someone in the lobby with luggage, and its really annoying. When I buy another place, I would NEVER but one that doesnt prohibit short term rentals.
Ex-Montreal Girl
Active Member
We just nailed a woman who, in violation of our Declaration, was running an Airbnb complete with check-in and check-out times, deposits, free parking and full access to our amenities (indoor pool, gym, change rooms, saunas etc.) An Ottawa court decision late last year stated that, the moment you advertise with check-in and out times, you are violating short term leasing provisions, single family restrictions and rules against operating a business.
She received a very scary letter from our solicitor and had to sign an undertaking not to do this again or face severe legal consequences. (We charged her for the legal costs, BTW.) We also deactivated all her fobs and reactivated them with very limited and restricted access. Our Rules give us the absolute right to do this.
She received a very scary letter from our solicitor and had to sign an undertaking not to do this again or face severe legal consequences. (We charged her for the legal costs, BTW.) We also deactivated all her fobs and reactivated them with very limited and restricted access. Our Rules give us the absolute right to do this.
Christopher Brown
Active Member
I'm moving from Maple Leaf Square which has in effect morphed from a condo to combined condo / 3 star hotel with 2 star guests. I concur, even with the new City of Toronto str rules, I'd never consider buying a home in a tower that permitted Airbnb, et al.
Ex-Montreal Girl
Active Member
Noise, damage, pool parties, no room in the gym, no security ... etc. Why would any homeowner permit this? This is what comes out of, IMO, allowing so many foreign investors to buy up so many units. They dominate the votes and get to set the agendas.
All of the Air BnBs we caught in our building were not foreign investors. Many were owner occupants who travel frequently. It was against our declaration so we always shut them down, and we made it very clear that we would, but people always try.
Ex-Montreal Girl
Active Member
Oh I have no doubt that that's what happens in higher owner-occupant condos. I suspect that many downtown towers are not like that.
I was in a downtown tower 
We were about 60% rental, 40% owner occupied. Some renters tried AirBnB, but as soon as we let the owners know, it was stopped. We did have some foreign investor owners, but never had AirBnB problems with them (getting their proxies was another matter!).
We were about 60% rental, 40% owner occupied. Some renters tried AirBnB, but as soon as we let the owners know, it was stopped. We did have some foreign investor owners, but never had AirBnB problems with them (getting their proxies was another matter!).