Short-term rental, accommodation tax bylaws approved

Adam Veri, Norfolk Ward 6 Councillor

Luke Edwards

Grant Haven Media

There may yet be tweaks to come, but Norfolk County councillors have approved staff recommendations to develop a short-term rentals (STR) bylaw and a municipal accommodation tax (MAT).

The contentious issues got approval at the June 11 council-in-committee meeting. With the vote, short term rental operators will need to begin registering their properties on Jan. 1, 2027 with a six-month timeline to get registered. The MAT, a four per cent fee charged to visitors staying in hotels or other STRs, will start getting collected on Jan. 1, 2028. A municipal development corporation (MDC) will be used for tourism governance and destination marketing.

Both policies faced stiff opposition, which led to several discussions around the council horseshoe in recent months. 

Coun. Adam Veri, one of the more vocal supporters of the MAT, said sometimes councillors need to make a decision based on what they believe is right, regardless of what they’re hearing in the community.

“I’m behind it because our businesses need it, our communities need it, our residents need it,” he said, adding despite opposition to the MAT, many of the people he talked to were supportive of the projects the added revenue could support.

Coun. Chris Van Paassen opposed both the MAT and the STR bylaws, pointing out several typos and inconsistencies between the two related policies. Additionally, these policies are adding another layer of bureaucracy, he said, pointing out that specifically for an STR, a potential operator already has to ensure they conform with a long list of municipal and provincial regulations.

Meanwhile, Coun. Tom Masschaele supported the STR bylaw for what he said were health and safety reasons for operators, users and neighbours. However, Masschaele wasn’t supportive of the MAT at a time when costs are rising elsewhere.

“I don’t know if I’ve actually heard from an operator who supports the municipal accommodation tax, at least in the Long Point and Port Rowan area,” he said.

“People are spending an extra $40 to put gas in their car, they’re spending a lot of extra money for groceries. I’m just not sure that in this uncertain and difficult economy that any kind of new tax is a good idea.”

However, supporters countered that the MAT will actually alleviate pressures on local taxpayers by shifting the financial burden of destination marketing and related tourism costs to the people who are visiting Norfolk and away from the residents.

“If there’s an opportunity given to us by the Province of Ontario to generate some revenue, you would be a fool not to take it,” said Coun. Linda Vandendriessche.

Revenue generated from the MAT will be split between the Municipal Development Corporation, which will use it for marketing, and the County, which can use it for tourism related infrastructure.

Staff have been supportive of the policies when bringing forward previous recommendation reports, and remained so at the June 11 meeting.

“These three initiatives (STR, MAT and MDC) create a dedicated self-sustaining visitor economy program that gives us the tools to market this community as a destination and invest in the infrastructure that supports tourism and regulates a sector that has been operating without oversight,” said Stephanie Potter, manager of corporate initiatives.

There is still some time for councillors and staff to address the typos and inconsistencies Van Paassen mentioned, as the bylaws have to come back to a regular council meeting.