Alberta court rules to ban short-term rentals

Q: What rights do condo corporations have regarding the operation of Airbnb vacation rentals in our condos? As condo owners, we are worried about the damage that short-term renters can do to our property.

A: There has been a significant ruling in Alberta regarding Condominiums and short-term rentals.

Last fall a judge granted a temporary injunction, but in March this has now been made into a permanent injunction. The judge decided in his ruling that condo bylaws are constitutional and temporary renters who do not have a lease, are not allowed. In other words: bye-bye, Airbnb.

The Alberta court ruling gives condo boards wide latitude to ban short-term rentals such as Airbnb, after a judge concluded that owners who use those services are essentially running hotels. It does caution though that it would depend on the exact wording of a condo board’s bylaws.

Some of the salient points of the ruling, include:

• Reduced to its essence, short-term occupancy through platforms like Airbnb where no lease is entered into, results in the functional equivalent of a hotel stay;
• The short-term rental of units, in the absence of a lease, not only contravenes the bylaws of the Corporation, but would result in a fundamental change to the structure and character of the condominium, without the consent of the Board, and without consent of the vast majority of owners;
• If the respondents’ argument were accepted, the Board would have its ability to manage the Corporation significantly impaired;
• This would result in a small minority of unit owners unilaterally changing the character of the condominium regime, thus adversely affecting the majority of Unit Owners, without their consent.

Under these particular Corporation’s bylaws a unit is to be exclusively used as a “one-family residence” and for residential, not commercial purposes.

It remains to be seen whether this decision will be appealed but any decision that relies on the interpretation or application of Bylaws will be fact-specific.

It must be determined whether your relevant Bylaws are similar enough that you ‘match’ as opposed to being distinguished. The Bylaws should be reviewed in detail before any decisions are made.

You can view the full article: https://globalnews.ca/news/6610790/edmonton-condo-board-short-term-rentals/ https://globalnews.ca/news/6610790/edmonton-condo-board-short-term-rentals/

Until Next Time…