Member Update on City of Yellowknife's Proposed Short Term Rental Accommodation Proposed By-Law Amendments
Dear Members,
First let me wish you all a happy and prosperous 2020! It is my hope that 2020 is kind to all of you and that tourism thrives across the territory.
As you may know, the issue of operating unregulated and unlicensed Short-Term Rentals (STR's) in the capital city is one that our members identified as a priority for resolution at our Annual General Meeting in November 2019. Late in 2019, the City of Yellowknife tabled its proposed by-laws for STR's for consideration and approval by City Council. We have been working on this advocacy issue and so I would like to provide you with an update on NWT Tourism's position regarding the City of Yellowknife's proposed STR by-laws and how we are participating in the City's public consultation process.
For ready reference, the Resolution passed by membership regarding STR regulations at the 2019 AGM is noted below.
Resolution passed at the 2019 AGM
Be it Resolved:
That the City of Yellowknife be formally requested to develop and enforce Bylaws for the regulation and inspection of short-term rental (STR) accommodation addressing the unlevel playing field for accommodation providers in the Capital City and that ensure providers of short term accommodation pay their fair share of business license fees and taxes and are meeting established health and safety requirements.
If you are interested in seeing the full resolution, you can find it here.
The City of Yellowknife is now advancing their proposed by-laws through their approval process with City Council. To advocate on behalf of our industry, a written submission requesting amendments to the proposed by-laws was sent to the City of Yellowknife on January 8th at the direction of NWT Tourism's Board of Directors. NWT Tourism has also registered to provide a public presentation in front of Council next week at their public hearing.
In our written submission, NWT Tourism gave broad support to the City for establishing Short-Term Rental (STR) Accommodation regulations. In order to strengthen the proposed by-laws though, NWT Tourism recommended seven amendments be considered and implemented before the by-laws are finalized and approved by City Council. These changes are briefly summarized as follows:
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Recognize that Short-Term Rentals fall into two regulatory categories: home-based businesses and commercial businesses
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Reconsider the definition of Short-Term Rentals
NWT Tourism suggested changes for Points 1 and 2 above to differentiate between a home-based business and commercial businesses to ensure a level playing field for all businesses offering short term accommodations.
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Zoning/Density Requirements
NWT Tourism recommended that the City require all businesses applying for an STR business licence be required to obtain a development permit to operate an STR. NWT Tourism also suggested the City set density parameters for STR's in residential neighborhoods as well as in condo/apartment complexes.
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Make adherence to Health and Safety Standards a prerequisite for a licence
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Ensure Enforceability of Fines on unlicensed Businesses and Marketing Platforms
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Provide increased clarity regarding what is included in and out of the definition “Market”
NWT Tourism suggested the wording on this definition be tightened up so that the platform provider, which is the provider of “neutral space”, be required to ensure the license number is included for any Yellowknife STR listings placed on its platform(s).
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Ensure there is a local contact, when owner/lessee is not on the premises
With safety for the visitor in mind, NWT Tourism recommended that the by-law require a local (within Yellowknife) contact number be provided to the visitor.
I recognize that the above summary is very brief. For those of you who want more details on any of these issues, please refer to the full document that was submitted to the City of Yellowknife this week. You can find that document here.
It is very important that we encourage the City of Yellowknife to develop strong and fair by-laws. These by-laws could form the basis for by-laws established by other communities in the NWT. (Late in 2018 the GNWT passed enabling legislation that opened the opportunity for some communities to put in place by-laws to collect an accommodation levy, should they wish to, and putting in place STR by-laws is the first step to being able to collect the levy.)
Next Steps:
I will be making a formal presentation to Council on Monday, January 13 on behalf of NWT Tourism. I'm certain that there will be other interested parties also presenting to council on January 13 and it will be interesting to see the varying viewpoints from different industry players in the city.
We anticipate that there may be some media interest in this story when it goes before City Council on January 13th and as per our board policy, I will act as spokesperson for NWT Tourism on this matter to media on behalf of the Board. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me and discuss.
Thank you to all of you for bringing the resolution on Short Term Rentals forward at our AGM in November 2019. Together we are working to support a strong and sustainable tourism industry in the NWT.
Kindest Regards,
Cathie Bolstad
CEO, NWT Tourism
email: executive@spectacularnwt.com
Phone: 867-873-5007 Ext: 1005
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