Illegal Canmore vacation rentals lead to $2,500 fines

The Town of Canmore is cracking down on illegal vacation rentals, and property owners caught breaking the rules are facing thousands of dollars in fines.

After an awareness campaign this summer informing residents of the rules surrounding short-term rentals, the town began issuing tickets three $2,500 fines so far.

"You need to have a permit to allow you to rent your house in that short-term fashion. And these properties don't have that authorization," said Canmoreplanningand development managerAlaricFish.

• Airbnb-style rentals are illegal and worsening Canmore's housing crunch, mayor says

UnderCanmore'sland-use bylaws, operating a tourist home in commercial and mixed-use areas,with a business licence,is legal. But vacation rentals are not allowed in residential areas.

And in a town where the vacancy rate hovers around zero per cent, Fish said the hundreds of of short-term rentals on websites like Airbnb and VRBO are only furthering the housing crunch.

"By decreasing the supply of housing, it drives up the rates that prices are being charged for the available units," he said.

Fine grows with additional offences

CanmoreMayorJohn Borrowmantold The Calgary Eyeopeneron Friday the town tried not to be too heavy-handed in its approach, first trying to educate property owners found to be in violationbefore moving to a stop-use order and ticketing.

"They have 14 days to appeal," he said. "Then post-appeal, the violation tag, if it's not covered, will become a provincial ticket."

After the first ticket, the fine for each additional offence goes up to $5,000.

'We know there is a demand for it'

Aside from the housing crunch, Fish said the town is also concerned about the disruption the short-term rental userscan cause in neighbourhoodsand the fairness inproperty owners profiting from short-term rentals without having to pay the same taxes as commercial properties like hotels and bed-and-breakfast operations.

"We know there is a demand for this, so we want to try and address that," Fish said.

"We're looking at ways that we might be able to change regulations to address some of those other fairness, nuisance and housing supply issues over the next year. But at this point, we need to stay on top of it."

• MORE ALBERTA NEWS|Peak larch viewing season spurs 2-hour shuttle lineups in Banff National Park
• MORE ALBERTA NEWS|$13K fine for killing grizzly deemed 'scandalous' by conservationists