Short-term rentals contribute significantly to the housing affordability crisis: Desjardins

A Desjardins report suggests short-term rentals likely contributed to the housing affordability crisis in Canada and around the world.

The report says the proliferation of short-term rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo has had a significant effect on the affordability and availability of homes by reducing the number of units available for long-term rentals and resale markets.

The report, citing data from analytics firm AirDNA, says Canada has more than 235,800 unique active short-term rental listings on Airbnb and Vrbo, the two largest hosting platforms, amounting to about 1.4 per cent of the country’s housing stock.

 

 

Real estate investors often earn more money on short-term rentals than long-term rentals, according to Desjardins.

Municipalities across Canada and abroad have implemented a variety of policies to combat short-term rentals in the hopes of opening up more housing supply as affordability continues to erode.

The report suggests governments partly restrict commercial non-principal short-term rentals, strictly enforce penalties for non-compliance and hold short-term rental platforms accountable.

 

 

This article was first reported by The Canadian Press

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