Cottage owners in Ontario are withdrawing their properties from rental platforms like Airbnb due to new short-term rental licensing regulations. Gabriel Leclerc, who owns two cottages in Calabogie, Ontario, is among those affected. He plans to remove his listings after the township introduced licensing rules set to take effect in 2024. Leclerc and other property owners express frustration over the fees and complicated administrative processes associated with the new regulations. "We were frankly not surprised because we knew that a lot of different municipalities and communities were looking at those types of licensing," he said. "But when we started going through it ... the rules and the intrusiveness of the process just became more excessive."

The new licensing rules are part of a growing trend among municipalities in Ontario's cottage country to regulate vacation homes. However, many property owners are choosing to take their homes off the rental market rather than comply with the new requirements. Leclerc, who already incurs costs for insurance, cleaning, and property maintenance, is frustrated by the additional expenses and the need to submit documents to the township that he believes they already possess. His family is now considering selling both cottages. "We had plans on renting them for a while, and then as the kids get older, using them for ourselves," he said. "And now ... that extra work and burden of licensing just doesn't make it worth it anymore."

The licensing process varies by municipality in Ontario. In Greater Madawaska, which includes Calabogie, the annual fee for a short-term accommodation license is $300. Homeowners must also provide a map of their septic system and property layout if they plan to rent for fewer than 28 consecutive days. This fee is currently unique to the area, although similar policies have been adopted in other regions, including Prince Edward County and the City of Ottawa.

According to the Township of Greater Madawaska, the bylaws aim to ensure safety standards and preserve community character. By registering rentals, municipalities can enforce fire codes, maximum occupancy limits, and noise regulations. However, some cottage owners argue that the regulations are not achieving their intended goals.

Kelly Percival-Green, who owns a three-bedroom cottage near Calabogie Peaks Resort, has also decided to withdraw her property from the rental market. She purchased the cottage intending to use it as a winter ski cabin and rent it out during the summer to help cover maintenance costs. However, the new regulations require her to hire someone who can respond to emergencies within an hour and check smoke detectors after each rental. "It just became so that it was not worth renting anymore," she said. "I'm all about safety, but that was a little bit overkill in my opinion."

Not all stakeholders are dissatisfied with the new rules. Meghan James, general manager of the Somewhere Inn in Calabogie, supports the regulations, stating that they create a level playing field for all rental properties. "Change is always hard. But if you're running your home or your second home or cottage as a business, I think there's fees that are associated with that," she said. James believes that regulation is essential for ensuring safety and managing noise in residential areas.

However, J.T. Lowes, owner of All Season Cottage Rentals in Haliburton County, points out inconsistencies in how the licensing rules are applied across municipalities. He notes that some owners face higher fees and different requirements, leading to a lack of uniformity. "It's predominantly impacting owners that only rent a handful of weeks each year," he said. Lowes believes the regulations are harming Ontario's tourism industry, as he has lost half of his business since Haliburton County enacted its bylaws in October 2024.

Minden Hills Councillor Pam Sayne acknowledges that the new rules will take time to refine. She emphasizes the need to balance tourism jobs with the availability of housing. "The short-term rentals are a big industry here providing lots of jobs for cleaning," she said. "But we also need places for those people to live."

Sayne believes that provincial support could expedite the process of fine-tuning the bylaws. "I think that for every municipality to have to go through this process with all of our staff time and all of our legal time going into providing these short-term rental agreements — that's something that could have been incorporated and done more at the provincial level," she said.

Leclerc, while not opposed to regulations, calls for simplification. "It just became this overbearing overreach that just doesn't make it worth it to continue," he said. The future of short-term rental policies in Ontario may depend on how municipalities like Greater Madawaska adapt to these challenges.