Anyone renting out a place to visitors in Oro-Medonte Township this weekend could expect a visit by bylaw officers and possibly police.
The township’s mayor warns visitors breaching the provincial pandemic rules may also be ticketed.
The township is currently in a battle with owners of short-term rental (STR) properties in the rural area between Barrie and Orillia over repeated complaints made by permanent residents, particularly along the shores of Lake Simcoe.
The two sides are preparing to argue Oro-Medonte’s amended bylaw in front of the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). The amended bylaw prohibits STRs in residential areas.
But until it’s resolved, the township can’t enforce those amended rules.
However, Mayor Harry Hughes points to an interim control bylaw the township is currently relying upon which prohibits the establishment of any new STR operations in the township.
“The target here are the party houses,” Hughes told BarrieToday. “Short-term rentals, people renting the cottage is a normal practice; it’s been going on for decades."
What's emerging now, the mayor added, is some people are operating residences as "ghost hotels."
"They’ve got nobody there, they rent out to large groups of people and they’re essentially party houses, is what they are," Hughes added.
Hughes said these homes are sometimes rented out to large groups of people who are charged nearly the equivalent of a month’s rent for a three-day weekend. The problem, Hughes added, is one that municipalities across the province are struggling with.
In addition, bylaw officers are also prepared to enforce Ontario’s Reopening Ontario Act and will also summon the assistance of police if necessary.
Ontario Provincial Police officers recently swept into Oro-Medonte’s Parkside Beach where a group of Windsor-area men had gathered. Police determined the six men had booked a nearby short-term rental through a popular service and charged the visitors.
The provincial pandemic stay-at-home order prohibits gatherings between members of different households. Those who live alone are provided an exception.
Meanwhile, the township has solicited the help of a company called Host Compliance to scan internet advertisements searching for new short-term rental properties in Oro-Medonte Township. Township officials then dispatch letters to the operators to advise them they are operating contrary to the township’s interim control bylaw.
Hughes said the township means business, having secured grants to hire students working as bylaw enforcement officers, augmenting its regular complement of officers over the summer.
“Enforcement is taking place and it isn’t just going to be a reminder. There are going to be charges,” said Hughes.
Meanwhile, rapidly escalating property prices has resulted in the sale of some of the homes the township has identified as short-term rentals to what Hughes believes are permanent residents with no intention of renting out their properties.
The fact that there are likely fewer houses for rent, says Barry Sookman, adds to the township’s “tenuous” banning approach.
Sookman is president of the Oro-Medonte Association of Responsible STRs, which is challenging Oro-Medonte Township’s bylaw amendment outlawing short-term rentals in residential areas.
“It is unfortunate as it deprives these homeowners of the enjoyment of Simcoe County as well as removes cottages that could be used by people who need to escape from the city to enjoy the amenities of Simcoe County and hurts the tourist economy,” he said.
Sookman said the warning letters aren’t just being dispatched to new operations and those with three bedrooms.
“The interim control bylaw does not prevent STRs of two bedrooms or less and they are still sending out notices to people who are not in violation of the (interim control bylaw). Also, at least one of their enforcement officers are telling residents that all STRs are illegal under the new bylaw that is being appealed, which is inaccurate and misleading,” Sookman said in an email.
Peter Lavoie of the Oro-Medonte Good Neighbours Alliance, which opposes the rentals, says short-term rentals have been actively operating during the provincial shutdown order.
“We’ve got a Victoria Day weekend coming up… (so) we’re all a little bit concerned,” he said. “We know the short-term operators are active.”
