A justice of the peace has imposed a $10,000 fine on the owner of a Willowdale home who violated city bylaws by accepting short-term renters, often using web sites such as Airbnb to find them.Justice of the Peace Gerry Altobello rejected a submission from the city prosecutor that the fine be set at $1,000 because that was “not enough” to send a message of deterrence to others doing the same thing.Altobello said the defendant was “thumbing his nose at the community and the city,” by continuing to rent the home at 5 Glenelia Ave., for periods of less than seven days after being told to stop. The maximum penalty for a conviction is $50,000.The home has been the site of problems.Neighbors complained about the high turnover of occupants and loud parties. Last March during one party nearby residents heard four or five shots ring out inside the home, and saw partygoers fleeing. A young man who received a gunshot wound to his head survived, Toronto police say.Last November, Yan Pan Zhao pleaded guilty on behalf of 2391324 Ontario Ltd., which owns the two-storey home at the corner of Bayview Ave.Zhao told the Star on Wednesday that he was acting as “an agent,” for the homeowner. He acknowledged his wife, Dan Wei, is the sole officer and director of the numbered company.Zhao said that after the city told them to stop the short-term rentals, “there were no new bookings. There was existing bookings but no more new bookings.”The company has 90 days to pay the fine.Prosecutor Geoffrey Uyeno told court the “defendant corporation” had lessened the penalty, by co-operating with the city, selling the house last November and agreeing not to rent it on a short-term basis until the March 31 closing.But Altobello said $1,000 fine “would just be an expense of doing business,” and failed to take into account the soaring value of the property in today’s explosive housing market.The Star has learne ...
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