The proliferation of Airbnb-style rentals hasn’t caused the decline in the development of traditional hotels in downtown Toronto, a land economist has told a provincial tribunal that’s hearing an appeal of the city’s short-term rental bylaw.Peter Thoma, founder of urbanMetrics, said Toronto is facing an accommodation crunch — one that will be worse if the city’s bylaw is allowed to take effect because it will drive out short-term rental operators who manage multiple units, which attract visitors who might not be able to afford or want to stay in a traditional hotel.“Toronto doesn’t have adequate tourism accommodations to support its growing profile on the international stage,” he told the tribunal.He was testifying Monday at the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) that will decide whether the short-stay accommodation rules approved by city council in December 2017 will ever be enforced.The bylaw would restrict short-term rentals to the principal residence of the landlord, driving multiple-property operators out of business. Short-term stays of no more than 27 days would be limited to 180 days a year for a whole home but individual rooms could be let on an unlimited basis. As well, the bylaw would prohibit property owners from using their legal secondary suites as short-term rentals. Only a long-term tenant would be able to rent that accommodation for short stays.Thoma appeared as a witness for Airbnb superhost Alexis Leino, who rents his basement apartment on a short-term basis but doesn’t want a long-term tenant. His legal fees at the tribunal are being paid by Airbnb, the biggest player in Toronto’s short-stay sector.In response to questions from Leino’s lawyer Sarah Corman, Thoma told the tribunal that, “The lack of new hotels rooms that are in the pipeline should be sending a really strong message to policy-makers at the City of Toronto. The policies that have been prepared clearly ind ...
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