Look to protect all housing (not just rentals)
One of the most common goals for STR/RGA regulations is the protection of long-term rental housing. Why? Because many communities are facing acute housing pressures, there are plenty of anecdotes of long-term rentals being lost to STR, and just looking at many STR suites you get the sense they’d make ideal rental homes for residents in need.
But when it comes right down to it, the rental market and ownership market are joined at the hip. Especially where secondary market rentals like basement suites etc. are common, which is basically everywhere.
For example:
The more home prices go up (relative to incomes), the more people you get who are shut out of ownership and end up renting, driving up demand for rentals.
The higher the demand for rentals, the more you can charge for rent, and the more you can charge for rent, the higher the value of the property (returning you to bullet #1, i.e. a reinforcing feedback loop).
There are many other connections you could describe between the ownership and rental markets (including both positive and negative feedback loops). But basically, the takeaway is that availability and cost in one impact availability and cost in the other.
You might go into short-term rental regulations thinking you primarily want to see STRs converted into long-term rentals (residential tenancies).
But as described above, if an STR is converted into an owner-occupied home, that’s also good for the rental market (one less potential person competing with other renters). And helping someone access homeownership in your community is obviously a good thing in and of itself.
When it comes to measuring the housing impact of your regulations, it also makes more sense to look at the big picture. If a unit ceases operating as an STR, it’d be really good to know if that unit converted to owner occupation, something you’d miss if you were only tracking regulations’ direct impact on long-term rentals.
In summary: if rental housing is a concern we recommend you simply aim to protect housing, period.
Looking for more help with your short-term rental regulations or enforcement program? Get in touch.
