Council approves new bylaw regulations for Calgary home share services

A Calgary city council committee is exploring potential regulations for home-sharing services including Airbnb

CALGARY -- Short-term rental operators in Calgary will soon be required to apply for a licence after new bylaw regulations for home share services was approved by council on Monday.

In September, a city committee met to look at licence fees, fines and regulations for short-term rentals and said the changes were being proposed because of significant growth in the industry.

On Monday, council supported new bylaw regulations for short-term rental operators as well as amendments to Lodging House regulations.

Short term rental operators in Calgary will be required to apply for a licence:

"These regulations are all aimed at ensuring safety for guests and create transparency between guests, operators and the community," said Cody Weiss, Business Strategist with The City of Calgary in a release. "Our goal is to create a clear understanding of what the bylaw outlines given that regulation is new. So, we are developing a policy document that will clarify for operators their requirements to comply with the new regulation. Our goal over the next couple of months is to get citizens comfortable with what a regulated environment will be like."

The city says the regulations are 'in line with the Alberta Safety Codes Act Fire Code Regulations' and that the goal is to ensure safety for guests and maintain transparency between all parties.

Weiss says the new business licenses will be available online on February 1, 2020 and that a Tier 1 licence can be approved within 24 hours.

Administration is expected to bring more recommendations on operational and enforcement practices to the committee in December.

The city has posted more information on its website, for operators.