Airbnb watchdog flags hundreds of Toronto condos as ‘ghost hotels’
A Canadian Airbnb watchdog has sounded alarm bells over the number of condo buildings in Toronto acting as “ghost hotels.”
In a Saturday press release, representatives for Fairbnb, a not-for-profit coalition of hotel owners, academics and concerned citizens that advocates for equitable short-term rental regulations across the country, said there was “an alarming pattern” that has allowed residentially zoned and taxed buildings to operate as so-called “ghost hotels.”
Ghost hotels are usually condo units rented by tenants who then list the units on short-term rental apps like Airbnb, thus turning a substantial profit. The City of Toronto implemented policies to prevent this sort of sub-leasing around the time of the pandemic, but as tourism has slowly returned to the city, so too have ghost hotels.
Ghost hotels made headlines in Toronto when two bullets were fired through a wall of a York Street condo in 2020 in a unit neighbours said was being used as an illegal short-term rental. Former City councillor Joe Cressy disavowed ghost hotels at the time, saying the city “desperately need[s] short-term rental operators like Airbnb to delist properties that don’t comply” with municipal zoning and tax requirements.
According to Fairbnb,a number of Toronto condominiums have a shocking number of short-term rentals in the system. These buildings ICE Towers at 12 and 14 York Street with 236 short-term rental units, 300 Front Street West with 195, and The Parade Towers at 15 and 21 Ice Boat Terrace with 166.
Data collected by Fairbnb also shows that the Spadina-Fort York area is also home to a “staggering” 2,058 short-term rentals, which makes up about one third of Toronto’s total Airbnb inventory, but is down significantly from the estimated 7,000 short-term rental properties in the ward in 2020.
“In Toronto, STRs in investment properties are prohibited, and only principal residences can be advertised on platforms like Airbnb. Seeing hundreds of STRs in one single building known to be dominated by investment units poses the question as to whether these STRs are indeed legal or whether property management companies and hosts are scheming the system in one way or another,” Thorben Wieditz, executive director of Fairbnb, said in the press release.
“The result is effectively the same, we are looking at residentially zoned and taxed buildings operating as ghost hotels.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
What we've learned so far in the Trump hush money trial and what to watch for as it wraps up
Testimony in the hush money trial of Donald Trump is set to conclude in the coming days, putting the landmark case on track for jury deliberations that will determine whether it ends in a mistrial, an acquittal — or the first-ever felony conviction of a former American president.
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.
Sentencing trial set to begin for Florida man who executed 5 women at a bank in 2019
Zephen Xaver walked into a central Florida bank in 2019, fatally shot five women and then called police to tell them what he did. Now 12 jurors will decide whether the 27-year-old former prison guard trainee is sentenced to death or life without parole.
'How do you get hypothermia in a prison?' Records show hospitalizations among Virginia inmates
The Virginia State Police investigator seemed puzzled about what the inmate was describing: "unbearable" conditions at a prison so cold that toilet water would freeze over and inmates were repeatedly treated for hypothermia.
U.S. ambassador 'not aware' of any plans for Trudeau-Trump meeting
Canada's Ambassador to the United States says she's 'not aware' of any plans for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to meet with former U.S. president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump before the November American election.
Helicopter carrying Iran's president suffers a 'hard landing,' state TV says without further details
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a "hard landing" on Sunday, Iranian state television reported, without immediately elaborating.
The secret Italian lakes that most tourists don't know about
Italy has dozens of secret smaller lakes that boast superb scenery, unknown to mass tourism, where locals get together on day trips and enjoy picnics.
Economists to have a close eye on April inflation report as BoC rate decision nears
Forecasters expect this week's inflation report to show Canada's inflation rate fell last month, but financial markets are still unsure whether a June interest rate cut is in the cards for the Bank of Canada.