Toronto Ïce Condominiums at York Centre | 234.07m | 67s | Lanterra | a—A

sikandar said:
This is a good example of beauracracy overriding common sense. When a delay of ONE YEAR would clearly be a win in itself for one side and impacts the security and housing needs of thousands of people, exceptions must be made to rule on an appeal quickly.
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While it will help to have the City rules approved, the basis of living in a Condo is that the Board has a legal responsibility to enforce the Declaration and the authority to make Rules that help it to do so. I have no first-hand knowledge of Ice but it appears that the Board (and their employee, the PM Company) are not making enough efforts to control short-term rentals; the Declaration apparently says they are allowed but Rules can be made and enforced to be sure that the Corporation gets advance notice of rentals, that the renters need to check in (and out) and maybe that the owners have to pay a fee to cover the administrative costs of monitoring all if this.
 
The board represents the owners, who are not necessarily residents.

If a significant chunk of owners just own AirBnbs or rentals, they indifferent or opposed to the status quo.

I'm a hypocrite-I love Airbnb when travelling but don't want it in my building.
 
DSC said:
While it will help to have the City rules approved, the basis of living in a Condo is that the Board has a legal responsibility to enforce the Declaration and the authority to make Rules that help it to do so. I have no first-hand knowledge of Ice but it appears that the Board (and their employee, the PM Company) are not making enough efforts to control short-term rentals; the Declaration apparently says they are allowed but Rules can be made and enforced to be sure that the Corporation gets advance notice of rentals, that the renters need to check in (and out) and maybe that the owners have to pay a fee to cover the administrative costs of monitoring all if this.
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This common perception is exactly what's wrong with some people living in condos. As a condo board member, I get blamed for nearly everything in the building (AirBnB, cigarette on a balcony, tresspassing, loud noises, garbage chute clogging, elevator repairs taking forever etc). People need to start taking responsibility for their actions. They need to stop behaving like kids and behave responsibly. Boards are completely volunteer-based. We have full-time jobs and volunteer on the board for the betterment of the building. We are not your full time baby-sitters. Guess what? You can lock down entire building, and will still have noise complains, trespassers and other violators. People still act like they still live at their parents' home or student residence hoping that their parents will pick up their trash after them and their rowdy guests.

Condo boards have very few tools to enforce rules (such as AirBnB, noise complains etc). It's nearly as difficult as evicting a deadbeat tenant in Ontario. Takes countless notices and costly litigation. My building is fighting AirBnB in our building, and we are faced with several litigious individuals who feel that the rest of the condo should be subsidizing their business model by allowing them to run a hotel in our building. Guess what, AirBnB is a form of stealing. You are stealing from your neighbors their peaceful enjoyment of their property. AirBnB leads to security incidents, increased wear and tear of common elements, increased traffic and use elevators and shared facilities. You are asking your neighbors to subsidize your business.

The province and the city need to give boards more tools to enforce the declaration and the rules. Instead, we are stuck between absentee landlords, AirBnBers and renters. Building with a higher proportion of owner-occupied units have fewer problems like this.
 
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If a landlord has to jump through hoops to kick out a tenant who hasn't paid in months, they will do the same for the board trying to enforce the rules. It's absolute nonsense.
 
sikandar said:
This is a good example of beauracracy overriding common sense. When a delay of ONE YEAR would clearly be a win in itself for one side and impacts the security and housing needs of thousands of people, exceptions must be made to rule on an appeal quickly.
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To bring some clarity to the City's involvement:

In 2017, it passed a short-term rental licensing and registration by-law as well as a zoning by-law that would permit short-term rentals in certain residential zones.

The STR by-law does not end STRs in any building, but restricts them to a person's principal residence, in theory eliminating commercial and multiple-unit rentals. I anticipate many individuals will not obey the by-law -- the primary enforcement mechanism is the City's power to demand STR companies (e.g. AirBnB) delist unregistered STRs, thereby depriving them of business.

Portions of City's STR zoning by-law were appealed to the OMB and are therefore not in force. The appeal was scheduled to be heard at the end of 2018, but certain appellants requested an adjournment and the Board provided its first availability for hearing in August, 2019, almost a year later. The City had no control over the dates given by the Board, which is overwhelmed.

While the appeal is pending, the City cannot realistically enact the STR registration by-law, so we are faced with the status quo.
 
mcornett said:
To bring some clarity to the City's involvement:

In 2017, it passed a short-term rental licensing and registration by-law as well as a zoning by-law that would permit short-term rentals in certain residential zones.

The STR by-law does not end STRs in any building, but restricts them to a person's principal residence, in theory eliminating commercial and multiple-unit rentals. I anticipate many individuals will not obey the by-law -- the primary enforcement mechanism is the City's power to demand STR companies (e.g. AirBnB) delist unregistered STRs, thereby depriving them of business.

Portions of City's STR zoning by-law were appealed to the OMB and are therefore not in force. The appeal was scheduled to be heard at the end of 2018, but certain appellants requested an adjournment and the Board provided its first availability for hearing in August, 2019, almost a year later. The City had no control over the dates given by the Board, which is overwhelmed.

While the appeal is pending, the City cannot realistically enact the STR registration by-law, so we are faced with the status quo.
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All residents who call ICE 1 and 2 home (myself included) would love nothing more than to see the end of STRs in the building. The amount of security and extra staff we now have to control the amount of people coming into the building makes you ask yourself - is this a private residence or hotel? It's unfortunate because the concept of sharing one's space is great for both an investment standpoint and visitors standpoint - BUT the reality is that the majority of visitors are not decent people who respect neighbors. How many of those guests actually realize they share their overnight stay with long-tern residents? How many of them are actually forced to read and accept the rules of the condominium? Enforcement is near impossible with that many people coming in and out. Security alone it's a massive task. One issue for example, my unit number in ICE 1 is an airbnb suite, my suite is NOT. At the point of checking in at the front desk they aren't always aware if they are in the right tower, 12 or 14 York St. Many guests who meant to go to their suite in ICE 1 come to my unit with the same number in ICE 2 - some attempt to enter my unit my forcing their key in my lock. - Access control is a MASSIVE issue here and a bunch of randoms coming into the building is not OK. That's just some of the realities us long-tern residents face living in a tower with SRTs being allowed. Can't wait for the day we condo corps and management companies have more tools and enforcement power to put an end to this BS.
 
Dustin William said:
All residents who call ICE 1 and 2 home (myself included) would love nothing more than to see the end of STRs in the building. The amount of security and extra staff we now have to control the amount of people coming into the building makes you ask yourself - is this a private residence or hotel? It's unfortunate because the concept of sharing one's space is great for both an investment standpoint and visitors standpoint - BUT the reality is that the majority of visitors are not decent people who respect neighbors. How many of those guests actually realize they share their overnight stay with long-tern residents? How many of them are actually forced to read and accept the rules of the condominium? Enforcement is near impossible with that many people coming in and out. Security alone it's a massive task. One issue for example, my unit number in ICE 1 is an airbnb suite, my suite is NOT. At the point of checking in at the front desk they aren't always aware if they are in the right tower, 12 or 14 York St. Many guests who meant to go to their suite in ICE 1 come to my unit with the same number in ICE 2 - some attempt to enter my unit my forcing their key in my lock. - Access control is a MASSIVE issue here and a bunch of randoms coming into the building is not OK. That's just some of the realities us long-tern residents face living in a tower with SRTs being allowed. Can't wait for the day we condo corps and management companies have more tools and enforcement power to put an end to this BS.
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Having used AirBnb when travelling, I actually think most AirBnb guests respectful and it is a minority that ruin it for everyone else.

I live in a condo and our Board has banned STRs. I live in a relatively small building (200 units) and I'm pretty sure staff look for ads online and would also ask questions if someone new showed up with luggage.
Does your condo corp actually ban STRs? Seems to me you don't need tools from the city, you just need the will power from the elected Board. It is management's job to enforce the wishes of the corporation.
 
WillTo said:
Having used AirBnb when travelling, I actually think most AirBnb guests respectful and it is a minority that ruin it for everyone else.

I live in a condo and our Board has banned STRs. I live in a relatively small building (200 units) and I'm pretty sure staff look for ads online and would also ask questions if someone new showed up with luggage.
Does your condo corp actually ban STRs? Seems to me you don't need tools from the city, you just need the will power from the elected Board. It is management's job to enforce the wishes of the corporation.
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These are 2 very large towers - and STRs are allowed. It's those unit owners that don't live here that don't care about the issues. It's the select few that do call this building home find the issues. Until STRs are not allowed, this will continue to be an issue. It's just the sad truth about having STRs allowed. However, overall I wish more could be done to limit the shear amount that is allowed to exist in a building.
 
Dustin William said:
These are 2 very large towers - and STRs are allowed. It's those unit owners that don't live here that don't care about the issues. It's the select few that do call this building home find the issues. Until STRs are not allowed, this will continue to be an issue. It's just the sad truth about having STRs allowed. However, overall I wish more could be done to limit the shear amount that is allowed to exist in a building.
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That sucks. Do you know if your Board of Directors are residents?
 
If you want to change the situation you need to talk to the Board (or get onto the Board). STRs can be controlled with a Rule or through the Declaration. If the Board are on-side, changing a Rule is fairly easy as Rules are adopted by the Board and come into effect in 30 days IF a group of owners do not requisition an owners' meeting that rejects the new or amended Rule. Changing a Declaration is more complicated and requires an owner vote after a Board approval. I am not sure what the situation would be if one restricted STRs and existing owners said "But, I bought here because I intended to be an Air B&B host". Would one need to grandfather them??
 
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DSC said:
If you want to change the situation you need to talk to the Board (or get into the Board). STRs can be controlled with a Rule or through the Declaration. If the Board are on-side, changing a Rule is fairly easy as Rules are adopted by the Board and come into effect in 30 days IF a group of owners do not requisition an owners' meeting that rejects the new or amended Rule. Changing a Declaration is more complicated and requires an owner vote after a Board approval. I am not sure what the situation would be if one restricted STRs and existing owners said "But, I bought here because I intended to be an Air B&B host". Would one need to grandfather them??
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Yep, get the rule changed. Owners whose units are being used for STRs might even be in favor of the change. In my building the owners were often unaware as it's long-term tenants running it without actually living in the unit; despite a no-sublets in the agreement. Easily evicted.

No key retrieval at the desk, signs in the elevator stating STRs are not allowed, and track electronic key-card entry with CCTV footage (different people for the same card is highly suspect), and condo management should have a copy of every long-term rental lease and enforce a "follow building rules" clause be part of the lease.
 
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rbt said:
Yep, get the rule changed. Owners whose units are being used for STRs might even be in favor of the change. In my building the owners were often unaware as it's long-term tenants running it without actually living in the unit; despite a no-sublets in the agreement. Easily evicted.

No key retrieval at the desk, signs in the elevator stating STRs are not allowed, and track electronic key-card entry with CCTV footage (different people for the same card is highly suspect), and condo management should have a copy of every long-term rental lease and enforce a "follow building rules" clause be part of the lease.
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In almost all cases, a Condo Corp will have (or should have!) Clauses in its Rules saying something like:

"Each Owner, Tenant, Resident and Occupant of the Corporation shall be responsible for the acts and/or omissions of their respective family members, Tenants, Occupants, Guests, licensees, customers, employees and agents." AND

"All Owners shall be responsible for any damage or additional maintenance to the common elements caused by their Tenants, Residents or Occupants and all costs of enforcing the Act, Declaration, By-laws and Rules against their Tenants, Residents and/or Occupants. These and any costs incurred to defend unsuccessful litigation commenced by a Tenant, Resident or Occupant against the Corporation will be assessed and shall be borne and paid for by such Owner of the unit and shall be deemed to be additional contributions towards the common expenses payable by such Owner and shall be recoverable as such."
 
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