This page contains answers to some questions individuals have regarding short-term rentals.
What is a short-term rental?
Short-term rentals are dwellings located in residential neighbourhoods that are used to operate businesses that provide temporary accommodations for a period less than 30 days. On-line platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, Kijiji, etc. are used to connect owners of STRs with travelers looking for accommodations.
Is running a STR the right of any property owner?
The owner of a property can only use that property for the purposes that are expressly permitted and listed under the local municipal zoning by-law. The intent is to segregate uses to respect the impact and incompatibility that some uses may have on another.
What is implied when residents living beside a short-term rental are referred to as "property managers"?
Unlike legitimate commercial hotels there is no on-site manager to control bad behaviour once a reservation has been made. Essentially, the residents living beside a short-term rental become the property managers. They are the ones who must react 24/7 and 365 days of the year when a disturbance of any kind occurs. Posting rules and regulations for the guests staying at a short-term rental does not prevent problems from occurring. Enforcing the zoning by-law that prohibits STRs from operating in a residential zone can.
Do STRs increase the tax base in the municipality?
Current STR owners have alleged that their operations somehow increase the tax base of the municipality. How? When they purchase existing properties, the tax paid remains the same. When they build new structures, the tax paid reflects the value of the new structure, which, in many cases, is a low-cost structure yielding less taxes than what a higher quality structure would provide. One need only observe the significant investments made by legitimate residents in both new and renovated homes to see that they are the real contributors to new additional taxes for the municipality.
Regarding the overall trend in increasing property market values, it is common knowledge that when overall values go up, mill rates come down, leaving taxes collected the same.
Are there any dollars that flow into the community?
The dollar flow created by STRs goes primarily to the owners collecting their short-term rent.
Whether it is groceries, fuel, hardware, restaurants, or coffee shops, regular residents are more likely to support local businesses than STR renters who are likely to bring plenty of supplies with them, party and leave.
Most “visitors” to the area are likely to spend their spare dollars in Wasagaming rather than in the Municipality of Harrison Park. And we know that the visitations to the Riding Mountain National Park are already growing exponentially. STR renters outside the National Park represent a very small number relative to total
visitor counts.
Are STRs part of a growing industry serving tourism?
STRs do not bring tourism to a community. It would be like saying STRs / hotels bring people to Winnipeg. Art festivals, concerts, pro sports, restaurants, parks and zoos, etc. bring the people, not hotels. RMNP is a tourist attraction, and the golf courses, restaurants, shops, trails, boating, and gatherings for weddings and events bring tourists to our community. STRs do not.
In fact, when the Covid 19 pandemic subsides and travel restrictions are eased/lifted, there may be times when legitimate local hotels and lodges and cabins may see a decline in localized tourism as people venture to further destinations. At that point, STRs would only be making business challenges worse.
Why not just "regulate" the industry?
If the Municipality tried to regulate these personal hotels, their numbers could potentially double or triple and the essence of our community would be negatively
impacted to a higher degree.
Other jurisdictions that have tried licensing and regulating STRs have found that it is a bureaucratic nightmare, costly, and essentially unworkable. We are a rural/urban small municipality that totally lacks the personnel to perform that task.
How can the municipality allow some STRs but still protect our neighbourhoods?
Condominium developments that are built for the purpose of allowing STRs do work. They exist in many vacation destinations. And of course, the construction of hotels, lodges, and rental cabins in appropriately zoned areas would better serve the accommodation industry than STRs in a residential zone.
Areas zoned and used for residential purposes are to be protected from incompatible commercial and industrial uses that would not normally be accepted and would be disruptive and out of character to a residential neighbourhood. To accomplish this the Municipality of Harrison Park simply has to begin enforcement action that short-term rentals are not permitted in residential general zones.