Canada has more than 100K short-term rentals that could be housing: report

The number of short-term rentals successful Canada has grown sharply since 2017, pinch units that could beryllium considered usable for semipermanent housing increasing moreover faster, a caller Statistics Canada study said connected Tuesday.

According to nan report, nan full number of short-term rental units successful Canada grew by 60 per cent betwixt 2017 and 2023. The number of units considered ‘potential semipermanent dwellings’ (PLTDs) – aliases units that could beryllium semipermanent lodging – roseate by 80 per cent.

In 2017, location were 58,441 short-term rental units that could beryllium considered imaginable semipermanent dwellings. By nan extremity of 2023, this number had risen to 107,266, nan study said. In 2017, imaginable semipermanent dwellings made up 27.2 per cent of each short-term rentals. By 2023, this stock was 30.2 per cent.

The study describes imaginable semipermanent dwellings arsenic full lodging units being listed for much than 180 days. This does not see vacation-type properties.

However, nan inclination was not linear and was surgery by nan first 2 years of nan COVID-19 pandemic. Total short-term listings fell by 19.2 per cent from 2019 to 2021. Potential semipermanent dwellings listed for short-term usage fell moreover much sharply, pinch a 28.1 per cent drop.

The study said this was owed to a diminution successful tourism activity.

“After nan diminution successful tourism during nan pandemic, galore spot owners whitethorn person converted their STRs to semipermanent rentals. This could besides explicate why 2022 marked a debased constituent successful nan proportionality of PLTDs, since galore thousands of units whitethorn person still been tied up successful 12-month leases during nan onset of nan recovery,” nan study said.

The study said this activity “may support nan conception that these units could beryllium utilized arsenic semipermanent dwellings.”

The study said Canada had 15.5 cardinal lodging units astatine nan extremity of 2023. Nationally, imaginable semipermanent dwellings accounted for 0.69 per cent of nan full lodging banal successful Canada, which is an all-time precocious for Canada. The stock is rising crossed respective provinces.

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In Ontario, for example, nan stock of lodging units much than doubled from 0.35 per cent successful 2022 to 0.69 per cent successful 2023. In Quebec, location was a jump from 0.38 per cent successful 2022 to 0.51 per cent successful 2023. In some British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, this stock exceeded 1 per cent.

The stock of imaginable semipermanent dwellings successful nan full lodging banal was importantly higher successful tourer areas. For example, successful Whistler, B.C., imaginable semipermanent dwellings made up 35 per cent of nan full lodging stock.

While nan stock of imaginable semipermanent dwellings arsenic a stock of Canada’s lodging banal whitethorn look low, John Pasalis, Realtor and agent astatine Realosophy Realty, said nan absolute numbers besides show a story.

“There are complete 100,000 short-term rentals that could person been utilized arsenic homes for families,” he said.

He said this number is very precocious for a state wherever yearly lodging starts hardly transcend 200,000. According to nan Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, lodging starts successful centres pinch a organization complete 100,000 declined nationally from 240,590 successful 2022 to 223,513 successful 2023.

Pasalis said this speaks to a philosophical mobility successful lodging policy: is lodging an finance aliases a right?

“These units are being utilized arsenic standalone edifice rooms for investor profit alternatively than arsenic housing,” he said. “We (in Canada) worth investor profit complete housing.”